ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION AND ABORTION IN ILLINOIS October 7, 2015 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION AND ABORTION IN ILLINOIS October 7, 2015 Kathy Waligora, EverThrive Illinois Mara Gandal- Powers, National Women’s Law Center Lorie Chaiten, ACLU of Illinois

Welcome! Goals for today:  REVIEW policy successes regarding contraception and abortion since the original summit  IDENTIFY opportunities to become involved in efforts to advance access to family planning services http://familyplanning.uchicago.edu/policy/conferences/

Housekeeping  We will answer as many questions during the webinar as possible.  A recorded copy of the webinar will be posted on EverThrive IL’s website in the coming days: http://everthriveil.org/resources/ starting-strong-webinars

Mara Gandal- Powers, Counsel FEDERAL UPDATE National Women’s Law Center October 2015

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY  Legislative attacks on Planned Parenthood and abortion providers  Federal Budget  Proactive Legislative Activity  EACH Woman Act  allaboveall.org – NEW video  Women’s Health Protection Act  National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY  April 2015 reports on ACA coverage violations  May 2015 HHS/DOL/Treasury Guidance on the Preventive Services (FAQs XXVI)  Administration finalized the post- Hobby Lobby regulations creating a “for - profit accommodation”  Continuing advocacy related to contraception  Regulations implementing §1557 of ACA  Waiver/exception process www.nwlc.org/stateofcoverage

COVERHER HOTLINE  FAQs about the health care law’s birth control coverage requirement  What plans are and are not allowed to do around cost-sharing  How to find out if a plan should be covering birth control without cost- sharing  Appeal letters for insurance companies: instructions and sample letters

UPCOMING SUPREME COURT ACTIVITY  Contraceptive Coverage Cases  Challenging the non-profit accommodation  7 Circuits ruled against the non-profits, 8 th Circuit found for the non- profits  Cert petition from the 10 th Circuit case ( Little Sisters of the Poor ) is with SCOTUS; DOJ filed brief last week asking SCOTUS to consider the issue but that the DC Circuit case ( Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Burwell ) was most appropriate to consider  Abortion Cases  Whole Women’s Health v. Cole (Texas, ambulatory surgical center and admitting privileges requirements)  Jackson Women’s Health Org. v. Currier (Mississippi, admitting privileges requirement)

State Update Lorie Chaiten Director, Reproductive Rights Project ACLU of Illinois lchaiten@aclu-il.org

 Current focus on budget impasse  Challenging political environment affecting ability to OVERVIEW move initiatives forward  Moving legislative efforts forward

 Problem:  Health Care Right of Conscience Act Senate Bill  Solution: 1564  Senate Bill 1564 amends the HCRCA  Incorporates patient protections into the Act

 Main opposition to the bill  State Medical Society  Catholic Health Association  Catholic Conference  Support Senate Bill  Illinois ACOG 1564  Illinois Academy of Family Physicians  Many others  Compelling use of patient stories and press coverage  Mindy Swank  Angela Valavanis

 Passed out of Senate in March of 2015  Negotiated amendment to bring main opponents to neutral  Ensures patients get standard of care Senate Bill information  Requires transfer, referral OR 1564 information about others who might be able to step in and provide information and care  Continuing Opposition  Crisis Pregnancy Centers  AUL and other abortion opponents

 Passed House Committee and is Senate Bill ripe for a 1564 vote on the House Floor

 What next?  Help us collect more stories Senate Bill 1564  Visit: http://www.aclu- il.org/put-patients-first- initiative-to-stop-the-use-of- religion-to-deny-health-care/

 Problem:  Abortion discriminatory language in Illinois Public Aid Code  Failure of Illinois Medicaid program to fulfill the promise of covering all “medically necessary” abortions  Inadequate reimbursement rates and timing House Bill  Legislative Step: 4013  Amend to remove abortion discriminatory language  Additional advocacy needed:  Need to clarify patient rights under Medicaid program  Need to improve reimbursement rates and timing

 Removes abortion discriminatory language from Illinois Public Aid Code House Bill  Passed out of House Committee 4013  What next?

 Illinois does not restrict abortion coverage in private plans Private  Private insurance companies Insurance voluntarily importing Hyde Challenges restrictions  Illinois EHB Benchmark Plan

MONITORING AND IMPLEMENTATION Kathy Waligora, EverThrive Illinois

Protecting Privacy  PROBLEM Explanations of Benefits (EOB) may compromise right to privacy for dependents  SOLUTION Legislation which suppresses the sending of an EOB for sensitive services  Family planning services  Mental health care  Substance abuse services

Protecting Privacy  Medicaid managed care  HB2812 ensures that Medicaid health plans do not send EOBs for sensitive services  Approved by General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Rauner  Private health insurance  Legislation introduced in 2014 session

Medicaid Coverage of Contraception  Illinois Family Planning Action Plan (IFPAP)  GOAL: Increase access to family planning service for women and men in the Medicaid program by providing comprehensive and continuous coverage to ensure that every pregnancy is a planned pregnancy  Reimbursement  Research  Communication

Medicaid Coverage of Contraception  Working with Medicaid plans  Changes to policies and reimbursement  Provider notice on 11/10/14 outlining increased reimbursement for certain services  Provider notice on 06/30/15 implementing policy change allowing immediate post-partum LARC placement

Medicaid Coverage of Contraception http://www2.illinois.gov/hfs/FamilyPlanning/Pages/Submit.aspx

Monitoring Private Coverage  Evaluated coverage of contraception and abortion coverage in plans available through the health insurance Marketplace  Assessed transparency regarding benefits  Discussed coverage policies and consumer education with carriers  Released a report which analyzed findings and issued recommendations for improving coverage http://everthriveil.org/resources/insurance-coverage-family-planning-services

Monitoring Private Coverage  Nearly all plans are compliant with ACA requirement for contraceptive coverage as clarified by HHS in May  5 of 8 carriers restrict abortion coverage to instances of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the woman  Access to information regarding family planning services and clarity of that information varies across plans  Information regarding waiver processes is nearly impossible to find

Eliminating Barriers to Coverage  If you have knowledge of a woman who was unable to review insurance coverage (either public or private) and/or received partial coverage for contraception and/or abortion services WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!  Looking for specific examples of barriers to contraception and abortion experienced by women in IL  Stories collected will be added to a database  No personally identifiable information is required to share a story  You should share stories from your recollection and do not need to consult medical records If you have a story to share, email Kathy Waligora, kwaligora@everthriveil.org

• Questions? Kathy Waligora • EverThrive Illinois • kwaligora@everthriveil.org • 312-763-2389 • **Remember slides and a recording will be • shared on the EverThrive IL website in the coming days