What does the CCCA do?

The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act (CCCA) ensures that women in New York state have access to the contraception they need. It’s no secret that contraception has dramatically transformed women’s lives over the last fifty years. Here’s what you need to know about the CCCA now that it’s passed:

1. It requires insurers to cover all forms of FDA-approved contraception, without a co-pay.
2. It ensures access to a year’s supply of birth control at one time, making it easier for women to fill their prescriptions and maintain coverage.
3. It improves access to affordable emergency contraception, by allowing pharmacists to fill prescriptions for it without a time consuming visit to a healthcare provider. This enables access to this time-sensitive contraception without a copay. (Without coverage, emergency contraception can cost up to $75.)
4. It expands contraceptive coverage for men by covering condoms if prescribed and sterilization (neither of which was included in current New York State Insurance law).

We need birth control:

• Birth control is already a near-universal practice. In fact, 99% of women who’ve had sex have used contraceptives at some point, and some 60% of all women of reproductive age are currently using a contraceptive method.
• Opponents of contraceptive coverage are in the minority. In a NPR–Thompson Reuters poll, 77% of respondents said that private insurance plans should cover some or all of the cost of birth control pills. If the plan is subsidized by the government, 74% of respondents thought it should cover some or all of the cost.
• Women who’ve used birth control pills have been found to have fewer cases of anemia, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer.
• Using oral contraception can help prevent or reduce the occurrence of ovarian cysts and cystic acne.