12/26/2024

UPPER MICHIGAN - New legislation is working through Lansing that would increase access to reproductive care. A three-bill package called the ‘Contraception Equity Package’ has partially been passed by the state Senate.  It would require insurance coverage and allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives. Only two of the bills made it through the Senate during a 29-hour session before the legislative year ended. Members of the group Planned Parenthood say the bills go a long way toward expanding access to birth control.  Opponents say the legislation was rushed and some didn’t have a chance to read the bills fully.  The one bill that did not make it through the Senate would’ve required insurers to cover a 12-month supply of prescription contraceptives, rather than limiting people to a one- or three-month supply at a time.