BILL NUMBER: S8786
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring health
insurance policies to include coverage of optional anesthesia for
certain contraceptive and menstrual health procedures
 
PURPOSE:
To allow individuals seeking reproductive healthcare to receive local or
general anesthetic from their medical providers, covered by their health
insurance policies
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 3216 of the insurance law to add menstrual
health procedures to the list of treatments included in coverage of
anesthesia.
Section 2 amends Section 3221 of the insurance law to add menstrual
health procedures to the list of treatments included in coverage of
anesthesia.
Section 3 amends Section 4303 of the insurance law to add menstrual
health procedures to the list of treatments included in coverage of
anesthesia.
Section 4 establishes the effective date of the bill.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would require health insurance to cover local or general anes-
thesia for people undergoing medical procedures including but not limit-
ed to IUD insertion, loop electrosurgical excision procedure, colposco-
py, and ablation. Not only would this allow patients more flexibility in
their surgery, it would further New York's commitment to accessible
reproductive healthcare.
Pain faced by women, and women of color especially, has been underesti-
mated and ignored. Pain has been considered a "necessary evil" in the
process of regulating menstrual health and childbirth, faced by people
of all ages and backgrounds. One of the most effective methods of birth
control, an intrauterine device (IUD), estimated to be used by around
14% of women ages 15 to 44, roughly 10 million people, can last from 3
to 12 years and can also be used to treat heavy periods and the side
effects that they cause. Though this is a fairly common procedure,
according to a 2014 study in the medical journal Contraception, provid-
ers routinely underestimate the pain that comes with the insertion of an
IUD. Vasovagal responses to the insertion of this device are also
common, leading individuals seeking treatment to feel dizzy, nauseated,
and occasionally pass out. When an IUD insertion goes perfectly, side
effects include pain and heavy cramping, and many people who opt for
this procedure receive no pain management from their physicians. Treat-
ment is inconsistent across the board, with reports of some individuals
receiving local anesthetic, or being advised to take mifepristone before
the procedure.
While a 2016 study of people who had never given birth before in the
Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare showed that 83%
of study participants were very happy with their IUD and 75% of partic-
ipants said that the insertion process went 'very well,' 78% reported
insertion pain as moderate to severe. 46% of participants experienced
vasovagal symptoms. One does not need to look very far to come across
stories of people who have had an IUD insertion, and have described it
as a "deep biological sense that something in your body that should not
be messed with is being aggravated" and "a pain level that gives a
glimpse of childbirth." While other procedures are unthinkable without
anesthetic - wisdom teeth excision, cystoscopies, colonoscopies - IUD
insertions are similarly invasive. Understandably, some individuals
will opt for anesthesia when undergoing this procedure, but anesthesia
isn't covered for this procedure across the board. Anesthesia can cost
$500 to $3,500 out-of-pocket, leaving it inaccessible to people who
would benefit from the use of it during a procedure. Other procedures,
like an endometrial ablation, where a medical professional scrapes out
the interior lining of the uterus, and a colposcopy, which is a cervical
cancer test, are invasive, intimate procedures that warrant the use of
anesthesia.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Subject to appropriations
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

Statutes affected:
S8786: 3216 insurance law, 3216(i) insurance law