New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a series of regulatory actions Sunday that he said will require insurance companies to cover contraceptives and “all medically necessary abortion services.”
“Through regulatory action, the State will ensure that contraceptive drugs and devices are covered by commercial health insurance policies without co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles regardless of the future of the Affordable Care Act; contraceptives are available in amounts exceeding one month’s supply at a time; and all medically necessary abortion services are covered by commercial health insurance policies without co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles,” Cuomo’s office said in a statement.
The governor’s office noted the announcement was timed to mark the women’s march on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of women protested some of President Trump’s policies Saturday in coordinated demonstrations across the country.
“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,” said Cuomo, a Democrat. “These regulatory actions will help ensure that whatever happens at the federal level, women in our state will have cost-free access to reproductive healthcare, and we hope these actions serve as a model for equality across the nation.”
On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order instructing his agencies to stop enforcing portions of Obamacare until a replacement could be put in place.
The legality of paying for birth control through Obamacare mechanisms has served as a major sticking point for conservatives throughout the implementation of the law.
Trump has made repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act an immediate priority of his presidency.
