Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB674 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3		EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4		[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5		-	Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
6		-	Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
7		-	amendment.
8	5		sb0674
9	6
10	7		SENATE BILL 674
11	8		O1, J1 5lr2022
12		-	CF ~~HB 939~~
	9	+	CF 5lr2021
13	10		By: Senator Hettleman
14	11		Introduced and read first time: January 26, 2025
15	12		Assigned to: Finance
16		-	Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
17		-	Senate action: Adopted
18		-	Read second time: February 11, 2025
19	13
20		-	~~CHAPTER ______~~
	14	+	A BILL ENTITLED
21	15
22	16		AN ACT concerning 1
23	17
24	18		Maryland Commission for Women – Maryland Collaborative to Advance 2
25	19		Implementation of Coverage of Over–the–Counter Birth Control 3
26	20
27	21		FOR the purpose of requiring the Maryland Commission for Women to establish the 4
28	22		Maryland Collaborative to Advance Implementation of Coverage of 5
29	23		Over–the–Counter Birth Control to study access to over–the–counter birth control; 6
30	24		and generally relating to coverage of over–the–counter birth control. 7
31	25
32	26		Preamble 8
33	27
34	28		WHEREAS, Access to birth control is essential to reproductive freedom and 9
35	29		autonomy; and 10
36	30
37	31		WHEREAS, Increasing access to over–the–counter birth control is a critical strategy 11
38	32		in empowering people who have been unable to access birth control because of challenges 12
39	33		in navigating the health care system; and 13
40	34
41	35		WHEREAS, Maryland was the first state to require coverage of over–the–counter 14
42	36		birth control with the enactment of the Contraceptive Equity Act of 2016; and 15
43	37
44	38		WHEREAS, 2.7 million Marylanders now have coverage of over–the–counter birth 16
45	39		control through a State–regulated private plan, the Maryland Medical Assistance Program, 17
46	40		or the State Employee and Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits Program; and 18
47		-	2 SENATE BILL 674
	41	+
	42	+	WHEREAS, On July 13, 2023, the federal Food and Drug Administration expanded 19
	43	+	the number of over–the–counter birth control options with the approval of the first daily 20
	44	+	birth control pill for over–the–counter use; and 21
	45	+
	46	+	WHEREAS, Maryland can continue to lead the nation in ensuring over–the–counter 22
	47	+	birth control access by establishing a consumer–focused implementation collaborative to 23 2 SENATE BILL 674
48	48
49	49
50		-	WHEREAS, On July 13, 2023, the federal Food and Drug Administration expanded 1
51		-	the number of over–the–counter birth control options with the approval of the first daily 2
52		-	birth control pill for over–the–counter use; and 3
	50	+	support collaboration among consumer organizations, industry stakeholders, and State 1
	51	+	agencies; now, therefore, 2
53	52
54		-	WHEREAS, Maryland can continue to lead the nation in ensuring over–the–counter 4
55		-	birth control access by establishing a consumer–focused implementation collaborative to 5
56		-	support collaboration among consumer organizations, industry stakeholders, and State 6
57		-	agencies; now, therefore, 7
	53	+	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 3
	54	+	That: 4
58	55
59		-	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 8
60		-	That: 9
	56	+	(a) The Maryland Commission for Women in the Department of Human Services 5
	57	+	shall establish the Maryland Collaborative to Advance Implementation of Coverage of 6
	58	+	Over–the–Counter Birth Control. 7
61	59
62		-	(a) The Maryland Commission for Women in the Department of Human Services 10
63		-	shall establish the Maryland Collaborative to Advance Implementation of Coverage of 11
64		-	Over–the–Counter Birth Control. 12
	60	+	(b) The Collaborative consists of the following members: 8
65	61
66		-	(b) The Collaborative consists of the following members: 13
	62	+	(1) one representative of the Maryland Insurance Administr ation, 9
	63	+	designated by the Commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration; 10
67	64
68		-	(1) ~~one representative~~ of the Maryland ~~Insurance Administration~~, 14
69		-	~~designated~~ by the ~~Commissioner~~ of ~~the Maryland Insurance Administration;~~ 15
	65	+	(2) two representatives of the Maryland Department of Health, designated 11
	66	+	by the Secretary of Health, of whom: 12
70	67
71		-	(2) ~~two representatives~~ of the Maryland ~~Department of Health,~~ ~~designated 16~~
72		-	~~by the Secretary of Health, of whom: 17~~
	68	+	(i) one shall be a representative of the Maryland Medical Assistance 13
	69	+	Program; and 14
73	70
74		-	(i) one shall be a representative of the Maryland Medical Assistance 18
75		-	Program; and 19
	71	+	(ii) one shall be a representative of public health; 15
76	72
77		-	(ii) one shall be a representative of public health; 20
	73	+	(3) one representative of the Department of Budget and Management with 16
	74	+	expertise in the State Employee and Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits Program, 17
	75	+	designated by the Secretary of Budget and Management; 18
78	76
79		-	(3) one representative of the Department of Budget and Management with 21
80		-	expertise in the State Employee and Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits Program, 22
81		-	designated by the Secretary of Budget and Management; 23
	77	+	(4) one representative of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, 19
	78	+	designated by the Executive Director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange; and 20
82	79
83		-	(4) one representative of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, 24
84		-	designated by the Executive Director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange; and 25
	80	+	(5) the following members, appointed by the Secretary of Human Services: 21
85	81
86		-	(5) ~~the following members, appointed by the Secretary~~ of ~~Human Services:~~ 26
	82	+	(i) one representative of Ibis Reproductive Health; 22
87	83
88		-	(i) one representative of ~~Ibis Reproductive~~ Health; 27
	84	+	(ii) one representative of the National Health Law Program; 23
89	85
90		-	(ii) one representative of the National Health Law Program; 28
	86	+	(iii) one representative of the American Society for Emergency 24
	87	+	Contraception; 25
91	88
92		-	(~~iii~~) ~~one representative~~ of ~~the American Society for Emergency 29~~
93		-	~~Contraception~~; 30
	89	+	(iv) two representatives of Maryland–based reproductive justice 26
	90	+	organizations; 27
94	91
95		-	(iv) two representatives of Maryland–based reproductive justice 31
96		-	organizations; 32 SENATE BILL 674 3
	92	+	(v) one representative of Advocates for Youth; 28
	93	+
	94	+	(vi) one representative of the Maryland Retailers Alliance; 29
	95	+	SENATE BILL 674 3
	96	+
	97	+
	98	+	(vii) one representative of the Maryland Association of Chain Drug 1
	99	+	Stores; 2
	100	+
	101	+	(viii) one representative of the Independent Pharmacies of Maryland; 3
	102	+
	103	+	(ix) one representative of the Maryland Pharmacist Association; 4
	104	+
	105	+	(x) one representative of the League of Life and Health Insurers of 5
	106	+	Maryland; 6
	107	+
	108	+	(xi) one representative of a pharmacy benefits manager; 7
	109	+
	110	+	(xii) one representative of the Maryland Managed Care Organization 8
	111	+	Association; 9
	112	+
	113	+	(xiii) one representative of a public higher education institution that 10
	114	+	provides student health insurance; and 11
	115	+
	116	+	(xiv) one representative of the Consumer Health Information Hub at 12
	117	+	the University of Maryland School of Public Health. 13
	118	+
	119	+	(c) The chair of the Maryland Commission for Women shall designate the chair 14
	120	+	of the Collaborative. 15
	121	+
	122	+	(d) The Maryland Commission for Women shall provide staff for the 16
	123	+	Collaborative. 17
	124	+
	125	+	(e) A member of the Collaborative: 18
	126	+
	127	+	(1) may not receive compensation as a member of the Collaborative; but 19
	128	+
	129	+	(2) is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State 20
	130	+	Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. 21
	131	+
	132	+	(f) The purpose of the Collaborative is to study and make recommendations to 22
	133	+	advance access to over–the–counter birth control through: 23
	134	+
	135	+	(1) implementation of State coverage requirements for over–the–counter 24
	136	+	birth control at pharmacies; 25
	137	+
	138	+	(2) advancement of point–of–sale coverage options at retail counters, 26
	139	+	virtual retail platforms, and vending machines; 27
	140	+
	141	+	(3) identification of public health initiatives to increase access to 28
	142	+	over–the–counter birth control for individuals who: 29
	143	+
	144	+	(i) do not have over–the–counter birth control coverage; or 30 4 SENATE BILL 674
97	145
98	146
99	147
100		-	(v) ~~one representative of Advocates for Youth~~; 1
	148	+	(ii) cannot access over–the–counter birth control coverage; and 1
101	149
102		-	(vi) one representative of the Maryland Retailers Alliance; 2
	150	+	(4) enhancement of education and engagement of consumers, health care 2
	151	+	practitioners, public health and community programs, and health care industry 3
	152	+	stakeholders. 4
103	153
104		-	(vii) one representative of the Maryland Association of Chain Drug 3
105		-	Stores; 4
	154	+	(g) The Collaborative shall: 5
106	155
107		-	(~~viii~~) ~~one representative of the Independent Pharmacies of Maryland; 5~~
	156	+	(1) study: 6
108	157
109		-	(ix) one representative of the Maryland Pharmacist Association; 6
	158	+	(i) responses to the request for information on over–the–counter 7
	159	+	coverage of preventive services published on October 4, 2023, from the U.S. Department of 8
	160	+	Labor, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Health and 9
	161	+	Human Services; 10
110	162
111		-	(x) ~~one representative of~~ the ~~League of Life and Health Insurers of 7~~
112		-	~~Maryland~~; 8
	163	+	(ii) responses to the proposed rule on over–the–counter coverage 11
	164	+	issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on October 21, 2024; 12
113	165
114		-	(xi) one representative of a pharmacy benefits manager; 9
	166	+	(iii) the report developed in consultation with policy experts in states 13
	167	+	with over–the–counter coverage laws and published by Ibis Reproductive Health on 14
	168	+	November 4, 2024, titled “Free the Pill and Cover it Too: Strategies for Making OTC 15
	169	+	Coverage Work in the Real World”; and 16
115	170
116		-	(~~xii~~) ~~one representative of the Maryland Managed Care Organization 10~~
117		-	~~Association~~; 11
	171	+	(iv) other reports and materials on implementing coverage for 17
	172	+	over–the–counter birth control; and 18
118	173
119		-	(xiii) one representative of a public higher education institution that 12
120		-	provides student health insurance; and 13
	174	+	(2) make recommendations on its findings. 19
121	175
122		-	(xiv) one representative of the Consumer Health Information Hub at 14
123		-	the University of Maryland School of Public Health. 15
	176	+	(h) The Collaborative may consult with: 20
124	177
125		-	(c) ~~The chair of the Maryland Commission for Women shall designate the chair 16~~
126		-	~~of the Collaborative.~~ 17
	178	+	(1) organizations with expertise in advancing equitable access to birth 21
	179	+	control for all communities; 22
127	180
128		-	(d) The Maryland Commission for Women shall provide staff for the 18
129		-	Collaborative. 19
	181	+	(2) retailers, independent and chain pharmacies, pharmacists, online retail 23
	182	+	platforms, wellness vending machine companies, and any other entity involved in providing 24
	183	+	over–the–counter contraception; 25
130	184
131		-	(e) A member of the Collaborative: 20
	185	+	(3) insurers, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefits managers, 26
	186	+	entities that administer cards for health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts, 27
	187	+	and any other organizations involved in administering coverage of over–the–counter 28
	188	+	contraception; and 29
132	189
133		-	(1) may not receive compensation as a member of the Collaborative; but 21
134		-
135		-	(2) is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State 22
136		-	Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. 23
137		-
138		-	(f) The purpose of the Collaborative is to study and make recommendations to 24
139		-	advance access to over–the–counter birth control through: 25
140		-
141		-	(1) implementation of State coverage requirements for over–the–counter 26
142		-	birth control at pharmacies; 27
143		-
144		-	(2) advancement of point–of–sale coverage options at retail counters, 28
145		-	virtual retail platforms, and vending machines; 29 4 SENATE BILL 674
	190	+	(4) community health center s, local health departments, and 30
	191	+	community–based organizations that support communities that have historically not been 31
	192	+	engaged with the health care system. 32
	193	+	SENATE BILL 674 5
146	194
147	195
	196	+	(i) (1) On or before January 1, 2026, the Collaborative shall submit an interim 1
	197	+	report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2
	198	+	2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. 3
148	199
149		-	(3) identification of public health initiatives to increase access to 1
150		-	over–the–counter birth control for individuals who: 2
151		-
152		-	(i) do not have over–the–counter birth control coverage; or 3
153		-
154		-	(ii) cannot access over–the–counter birth control coverage; and 4
155		-
156		-	(4) enhancement of education and engagement of consumers, health care 5
157		-	practitioners, public health and community programs, and health care industry 6
158		-	stakeholders. 7
159		-
160		-	(g) The Collaborative shall: 8
161		-
162		-	(1) study: 9
163		-
164		-	(i) responses to the request for information on over–the–counter 10
165		-	coverage of preventive services published on October 4, 2023, from the U.S. Department of 11
166		-	Labor, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Health and 12
167		-	Human Services; 13
168		-
169		-	(ii) responses to the proposed rule on over–the–counter coverage 14
170		-	issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on October 21, 2024; 15
171		-
172		-	(iii) the report developed in consultation with policy experts in states 16
173		-	with over–the–counter coverage laws and published by Ibis Reproductive Health on 17
174		-	November 4, 2024, titled “Free the Pill and Cover it Too: Strategies for Making OTC 18
175		-	Coverage Work in the Real World”; and 19
176		-
177		-	(iv) other reports and materials on implementing coverage for 20
178		-	over–the–counter birth control; and 21
179		-
180		-	(2) make recommendations on its findings. 22
181		-
182		-	(h) The Collaborative may consult with: 23
183		-
184		-	(1) health professional associations and other organizations with expertise 24
185		-	in advancing equitable access to birth control for all communities; 25
186		-
187		-	(2) retailers, independent and chain pharmacies, pharmacists, online retail 26
188		-	platforms, wellness vending machine companies, and any other entity involved in providing 27
189		-	over–the–counter contraception; 28
190		-
191		-	(3) insurers, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefits managers, 29
192		-	entities that administer cards for health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts, 30
193		-	and any other organizations involved in administering coverage of over–the–counter 31
194		-	contraception; and 32 SENATE BILL 674 5
195		-
196		-
197		-
198		-	(4) community health centers, local health departments, and 1
199		-	community–based organizations that support communities that have historically not been 2
200		-	engaged with the health care system. 3
201		-
202		-	(i) (1) On or before January 1, 2026, the Collaborative shall submit an interim 4
	200	+	(2) On or before December 1, 2027, the Collaborative shall submit a final 4
203	201		report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and, in accordance with § 5
204	202		2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. 6
205	203
206		-	(2) On or before December 1, 2027, the Collaborative shall submit a final 7
207		-	report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and, in accordance with § 8
208		-	2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. 9
	204	+	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take ef fect July 7
	205	+	1, 2025. It shall remain effective for a period of 3 years and, at the end of June 30, 2028, 8
	206	+	this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and 9
	207	+	of no further force and effect. 10
209	208
210		-	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 10
211		-	1, 2025. It shall remain effective for a period of 3 years and, at the end of June 30, 2028, 11
212		-	this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and 12
213		-	of no further force and effect. 13
214		-
215		-
216		-
217		-
218		-
219		-	Approved:
220		-	________________________________________________________________________________
221		-	Governor.
222		-	________________________________________________________________________________
223		-	President of the Senate.
224		-	________________________________________________________________________________
225		-	Speaker of the House of Delegates.