New Mexico § 13-7-22 - Coverage for contraception

§ 13-7-22. Coverage for contraception

A. Group health coverage, including any form of self-insurance, offered, issued or

renewed under the Health Care Purchasing Act that provides coverage for prescription

drugs shall provide, at a minimum, the following coverage: (1) at least one product or form of contraception in each of the contraceptive method

categories identified by the federal food and drug administration; (2) a sufficient number and assortment of oral contraceptive pills to reflect the

variety of oral contraceptives approved by the federal food and drug administration;

and (3) clinical services related to the provision or use of contraception, including

consultations, examinations, procedures, ultrasound, anesthesia, patient education,

counseling, device insertion and removal, follow-up care and side-effects management. B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the coverage required pursuant

to this section shall not be subject to: (1) enrollee cost sharing; (2) utilization review; (3) prior authorization or step therapy requirements; or (4) any other restrictions or delays on the coverage. C. A group health plan may discourage brand-name pharmacy drugs or items by applying

cost sharing to brand-name drugs or items when at least one generic or therapeutic

equivalent is covered within the same method of contraception without patient cost

sharing; provided that when an enrollee's health care provider determines that a

particular drug or item is medically necessary, the group health plan shall cover

the brand-name pharmacy drug or item without cost sharing. Medical necessity may include considerations such as severity of side effects, differences

in permanence or reversibility of contraceptives and ability to adhere to the appropriate

use of the drug or item, as determined by the attending provider. D. A group health plan administrator shall grant an enrollee an expedited hearing

to appeal any adverse determination made relating to the provisions of this section. The process for requesting an expedited hearing pursuant to this subsection shall: (1) be easily accessible, transparent, sufficiently expedient and not unduly burdensome

on an enrollee, the enrollee's representative or the enrollee's health care provider; (2) defer to the determination of the enrollee's health care provider; and (3) provide for a determination of the claim according to a time frame and in a manner

that takes into account the nature of the claim and the medical exigencies involved

for a claim involving an urgent health care need. E. A group health plan shall not require a prescription for any drug, item or service

that is available without a prescription. F. A group health plan shall provide coverage and shall reimburse a health care provider

or dispensing entity on a per-unit basis for dispensing a six-month supply of contraceptives

at one time; provided that the contraceptives are prescribed and self-administered. G. Nothing in this section shall be construed to: (1) require a health care provider to prescribe six months of contraceptives at one

time; or (2) permit a group health plan to limit coverage or impose cost sharing for an alternate

method of contraception if an enrollee changes contraceptive methods before exhausting

a previously dispensed supply. H. The provisions of this section shall not apply to short-term travel, accident-only,

hospital-indemnity-only, limited-benefit or disease-specific group health plans. I. For the purposes of this section: (1) “ contraceptive method categories identified by the federal food and drug administration ”: (a) means tubal ligation; sterilization implant; copper intrauterine device; intrauterine

device with progestin; implantable rod; contraceptive shot or injection; combined

oral contraceptives; extended or continuous use oral contraceptives; progestin-only

oral contraceptives; patch; vaginal ring; diaphragm with spermicide; sponge with

spermicide; cervical cap with spermicide; male and female condoms; spermicide alone;

vasectomy; ulipristal acetate; levonorgestrel emergency contraception; and any

additional method categories of contraception approved by the federal food and drug

administration; and (b) does not mean a product that has been recalled for safety reasons or withdrawn

from the market; (2) “ cost sharing ” means a deductible, copayment or coinsurance that an enrollee is required to pay

in accordance with the terms of a group health plan; and (3) “ health care provider ” means an individual licensed to provide health care in the ordinary course of business.