State Representatives Christine P. Barber, Denise Provost, and Mike Connolly voted last week to ensure affordable access to contraception. H.536/S.499, An Act relative to advancing contraceptive coverage and economic security in our state, known as the ACCESS bill, will ensure that the 1.4 million women in Massachusetts who currently use some form of birth control can access it when they need it. This bill protects against rollbacks of coverage for preventive services at the federal level.

On October 6, 2017, President Trump’s administration issued a regulation that allows employers to deny birth control coverage to employees. The ACCESS bill will protect Massachusetts residents from this denial of coverage. It will also expand access to contraception and continue to strengthen Massachusetts’s position as a leader on women’s health.

This bill will guarantee coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives and related appointments and counseling with no copay. It also allows doctors to determine which birth control method is medically advisable for a patient, requiring insurance plans to respect the decisions made by health care providers and patients.

“Research has shown that access to birth control improves women’s health, saves us money, and significantly lowers birth rates among teens,” wrote Representative Barber in her testimony to the Joint Committee on Financial Services. “Massachusetts cannot afford to go backwards after coming so far for women’s reproductive rights.”

“Reproductive freedom is a human right, and that is what’s at stake today,” Rep. Connolly said, echoing his testimony before the Joint Committee on Financial Services. “By passing the ACCESS bill, we are resisting the Trump Administration’s attempts to turn back the clock on basic health care and reproductive justice.”

“Women’s health is non-negotiable for me, and should be for government at all levels. I’m delighted that the Massachusetts House has enacted the contraceptive ACCESS bill, with an Emergency Preamble, to make it effective immediately,” said Rep. Provost.

The ACCESS bill goes even further than the ACA in covering birth control for women, at a time when women’s health issues are under attack by the federal government. Representatives from Somerville are leading the way in ensuring that all residents of the Commonwealth are protected from egregious restrictions on health care.

Both the House and the Senate voted to enact the legislation on Tuesday evening, prior to the legislature’s winter recess.

~Commonwealth of Mass House of Representatives