Guinn signs women's medical access measures

CARSON CITY - A bill requiring health insurers to cover prescription birth control if they already cover prescription drugs was signed into law Saturday by Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The "contractive equity" bill, AB60 was sponsored by Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who says the law will help end problems of gender bias in the health care field.

She points out that Viagra was immediately covered by health insurance, while birth control pills have been around since the 1960s and are still not covered by many plans.

AB60 also requires insurance companies to pay for hormone replacement therapy, if other prescription drugs are covered under a plan.

Also signed Saturday by Guinn was a measure to ensure that women can see their obstetrician or gynecologist without a referral from a primary physician.

Supporters of AB515, proposed by Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon, say it's not an insurance mandate but instead a move to guarantee health care access.

A third bill, to require insurers to cover mental illness on the same level as they cover physical illnesses, also was on the governor's desk - facing an uncertain future.

Guinn met with legislative advocates and opponents of the mental health parity bill on Saturday, and the result was a plan to try to draft another bill in the final days of the session that would resolve the differences.

Earlier in the session, bills mandating mammograms, osteoporosis testing and fertility treatment and more all died in committee.

The measures were opposed by Nevadans For Affordable Health Care, a coalition of small businesses and insurers that says piling up mandatory benefits will make health plans too expensive for many employers and in turn lead to fewer people having any health insurance at all.

There were 21 bills introduced this session that the coalition considers mandatory benefits.

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