BILL REQ. #:  S-1271.1 

Read first time 02/15/13.   Referred to Committee on Health Care .

     AN ACT Relating to preserving health insurance coverage for the voluntary termination of a pregnancy by requiring health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2014, that provide coverage for maternity care or services to provide a covered person with substantially equivalent coverage to permit the voluntary termination of a pregnancy, by prohibiting a health plan from limiting in any way a woman's access to services related to the voluntary termination of a pregnancy other than terms and conditions generally applicable to the health plan's coverage of maternity care or services including applicable cost sharing, by not limiting in any way a woman's constitutionally or statutorily protected right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy, by clarifying that health plans are not required to cover abortions that would be unlawful under RCW 9.02.120, by providing an exemption for a multistate plan that does not cover the voluntary termination of pregnancies under federal law, by making the provisions of this act inapplicable to the minimum extent necessary to avoid noncompliance with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, and by clarifying that nothing in this act affects the statutory right of objection based on conscience or religion as set forth in RCW 48.43.065 or 70.47.160; and adding a new section to chapter 48.43 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 48.43 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, if a health plan issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2014, provides coverage for maternity care or services, the health plan must also provide a covered person with substantially equivalent coverage to permit the voluntary termination of a pregnancy.
     (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a health plan subject to subsection (1) of this section may not limit in any way a woman's access to services related to the voluntary termination of a pregnancy.
     (b)(i) Coverage for the voluntary termination of a pregnancy may be subject to terms and conditions generally applicable to the health plan's coverage of maternity care or services, including applicable cost sharing.
     (ii) A health plan is not required to cover abortions that would be unlawful under RCW 9.02.120.
     (3) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to limit in any way a woman's constitutionally or statutorily protected right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.
     (4) This section does not, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 18054(a)(6), apply to a multistate plan that does not provide coverage for the voluntary termination of a pregnancy.
     (5) If the application of this section to a health plan results in noncompliance with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, this section is inapplicable to the plan to the minimum extent necessary for the state to be in compliance. The inapplicability of this section to a specific health plan under this subsection does not affect the operation of this section in other circumstances.
     (6) Nothing in this section affects the right of objection based on conscience or religion as set out in RCW 48.43.065 or 70.47.160.