Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a plan Saturday to require health insurers to cover medically necessary abortions and most forms of contraception at no cost.
Under the new regulations, abortions deemed medically necessary by a doctor will no longer be subject to co-payments or annual deductibles. Insurers also will be required to cover a three-month supply of contraception the first time a woman obtains it, and then a supply for up to 12 months, at no cost.
“Women deserve to make a fair wage and the same salary as any man, they deserve to work in an office free of sexual harassment, they deserve comprehensive paid family leave, and they deserve control over their health and reproductive decisions,” Cuomo said in a news release.
The directive comes as Republicans in Congress are taking steps to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Insurers are required to cover most forms of contraception for free under the act.
“These regulatory actions will help ensure that whatever happens at the federal level, women in our state will have cost-free access to reproductive health care and we hope these actions serve as a model for equality across the nation,” Cuomo said.