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SB0276B -1- CSSB 276(HSS)
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CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 276(HSS)
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
Offered: 3/25/26
Referred: Labor and Commerce
Sponsor(s): SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to insurance coverage for contraceptives and related services; relating 1
to medical assistance coverage for contraceptives and related services; and providing for 2
an effective date." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 21.42 is amended by adding a new section to read: 5
Sec. 21.42.427. Coverage for contraceptives. (a) A health care insurer that 6
offers, issues for delivery, delivers, or renews in the state a health care insurance plan 7
in the group or individual market shall 8
(1) provide coverage for 9
(A) prescription contraceptives; and 10
(B) consultations, examinations, procedures, and medical 11
services that are necessary to prescribe, dispense, insert, deliver, distribute, 12
administer, or remove the drugs, devices, and other products or services 13
provided under this paragraph; 14
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(2) reimburse a health care provider or dispensing entity for dispensing 1
prescription contraceptives intended to last for a 12-month period for subsequent 2
dispensings of the same prescription contraceptive to the insured regardless of whether 3
the insured was enrolled in the health care insurance plan at the time of the first 4
dispensing. 5
(b) A health care insurer may not deny coverage or reimbursement under (a) 6
of this section because an insured changed contraceptive methods within a 12-month 7
period. 8
(c) Except as provided in (d) of this section, a health care insurer may not 9
offset the costs of compliance with (a) of this section and may not require copayments 10
or deductibles for contraceptives or services covered under (a) of this section. 11
(d) A health care insurer shall establish cost sharing for the coverage provided 12
under (a) of this section to the extent necessary to qualify a plan as a high deductible 13
health plan eligible for a health savings account tax deduction under 26 U.S.C. 223 14
(Internal Revenue Code). 15
(e) A health care insurer may not restrict or delay the coverage or 16
reimbursement required under (a) of this section, including use of medical 17
management techniques, such as denials, step therapy, or prior authorization, that limit 18
an insured's choice in accessing a full range of prescription contraceptives. Nothing in 19
this subsection prevents a health care insurer from enacting reasonable cost 20
containment measures in relation to the coverage required under (a) of this section if 21
the cost containment measure does not unreasonably limit choice in access to 22
coverage. In this subsection, "cost containment" means incentivizing the use of 23
generic or lower cost medications or the use of health care providers or pharmacies 24
that offer services or prescriptions at a lower negotiated rate. 25
(f) If the covered therapeutically equivalent version of a prescription 26
contraceptive is not available or is considered medically inadvisable by the health care 27
provider of the insured, a health care insurer shall provide coverage without cost 28
sharing for an alternative therapeutically equivalent version of the prescription 29
contraceptive that is prescribed for the insured. 30
(g) A health care insurer shall provide coverage and reimbursement under (a) 31
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of this section to all insureds enrolled in a health care insurance plan, including 1
enrolled spouses and dependents. 2
(h) A health care insurer that offers, issues for delivery, delivers, or renews in 3
the state a health care insurance plan in the group market to a religious employer is 4
exempt from the requirements of this section with respect to the health care insurance 5
plan of the religious employer if the religious employer opposes the coverage required 6
under this section and is an organization that meets the criteria set out in 26 U.S.C. 7
6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii) (Internal Revenue Code of 1986), as amended. A religious 8
employer that opposes coverage under this subsection shall provide a list of the 9
contraceptives or services described in (a) of this section for which the religious 10
employer opposes coverage 11
(1) to each prospective enrollee in the religious employer's health care 12
insurance plan before the enrollee's enrollment in the plan; and 13
(2) annually to all insureds enrolled in the religious employer's health 14
care insurance plan. 15
(i) In this section, "prescription contraceptive" means a drug or device that 16
requires a prescription and is approved by the United States Food and Drug 17
Administration to prevent pregnancy. 18
* Sec. 2. AS 29.10.200 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 19
(68) AS 29.20.420 (health care insurance plans). 20
* Sec. 3. AS 29.20 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read: 21
Sec. 29.20.420. Health insurance policies. (a) If a municipality offers a group 22
health care insurance plan covering municipal employees, including by means of self-23
insurance, the municipal health care insurance plan is subject to the requirements of 24
AS 21.42.427. 25
(b) This section applies to home rule and general law municipalities. 26
(c) In this section, "health care insurance plan" has the meaning given in 27
AS 21.54.500. 28
* Sec. 4. AS 39.30.090(a) is amended to read: 29
(a) The Department of Administration may obtain a policy or policies of group 30
insurance covering state employees, persons entitled to coverage under AS 14.25.168, 31
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14.25.480, AS 22.25.090, AS 39.35.535, 39.35.880, or former AS 39.37.145, 1
employees of other participating governmental units, or persons entitled to coverage 2
under AS 23.15.136, subject to the following conditions: 3
(1) a group insurance policy shall provide one or more of the following 4
benefits: life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, weekly 5
indemnity insurance, hospital expense insurance, surgical expense insurance, dental 6
expense insurance, audiovisual insurance, or other medical care insurance; 7
(2) each eligible employee of the state, the spouse and the unmarried 8
children chiefly dependent on the eligible employee for support, and each eligible 9
employee of another participating governmental unit shall be covered by the group 10
policy, unless exempt under regulations adopted by the commissioner of 11
administration; 12
(3) a governmental unit may participate under a group policy if 13
(A) its governing body adopts a resolution authorizing 14
participation and payment of required premiums; 15
(B) a certified copy of the resolution is filed with the 16
Department of Administration; and 17
(C) the commissioner of administration approves the 18
participation in writing; 19
(4) in procuring a policy of group health or group life insurance as 20
provided under this section or excess loss insurance as provided in AS 39.30.091, the 21
Department of Administration shall comply with the dual choice requirements of 22
AS 21.86.310, and shall obtain the insurance policy from an insurer authorized to 23
transact business in the state under AS 21.09, a hospital or medical service corporation 24
authorized to transact business in this state under AS 21.87, or a health maintenance 25
organization authorized to operate in this state under AS 21.86; an excess loss 26
insurance policy may be obtained from a life or health insurer authorized to transact 27
business in this state under AS 21.09 or from a hospital or medical service corporation 28
authorized to transact business in this state under AS 21.87; 29
(5) the Department of Administration shall make available bid 30
specifications for desired insurance benefits or for administration of benefit claims and 31
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payments to (A) all insurance carriers authorized to transact business in this state 1
under AS 21.09 and all hospital or medical service corporations authorized to transact 2
business under AS 21.87 who are qualified to provide the desired benefits; and (B) 3
insurance carriers authorized to transact business in this state under AS 21.09, hospital 4
or medical service corporations authorized to transact business under AS 21.87, and 5
third-party administrators licensed to transact business in this state and qualified to 6
provide administrative services; the specifications shall be made available at least once 7
every five years; the lowest responsible bid submitted by an insurance carrier, hospital 8
or medical service corporation, or third-party administrator with adequate servicing 9
facilities shall govern selection of a carrier, hospital or medical service corporation, or 10
third-party administrator under this section or the selection of an insurance carrier or a 11
hospital or medical service corporation to provide excess loss insurance as provided in 12
AS 39.30.091; 13
(6) if the aggregate of dividends payable under the group insurance 14
policy exceeds the governmental unit's share of the premium, the excess shall be 15
applied by the governmental unit for the sole benefit of the employees; 16
(7) a person receiving benefits under AS 14.25.110, AS 22.25, 17
AS 39.35, or former AS 39.37 may continue the life insurance coverage that was in 18
effect under this section at the time of termination of employment with the state or 19
participating governmental unit; 20
(8) a person electing to have insurance under (7) of this subsection 21
shall pay the cost of this insurance; 22
(9) for each permanent part-time employee electing coverage under 23
this section, the state shall contribute one-half the state contribution rate for permanent 24
full-time state employees, and the permanent part-time employee shall contribute the 25
other one-half; 26
(10) a person receiving benefits under AS 14.25, AS 22.25, AS 39.35, 27
or former AS 39.37 may obtain auditory, visual, and dental insurance for that person 28
and eligible dependents under this section; the level of coverage for persons over 65 29
shall be the same as that available before reaching age 65 except that the benefits 30
payable shall be supplemental to any benefits provided under the federal old age, 31
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survivors, and disability insurance program; a person electing to have insurance under 1
this paragraph shall pay the cost of the insurance; the commissioner of administration 2
shall adopt regulations implementing this paragraph; 3
(11) a person receiving benefits under AS 14.25, AS 22.25, AS 39.35, 4
or former AS 39.37 may obtain long-term care insurance for that person and eligible 5
dependents under this section; a person who elects insurance under this paragraph 6
shall pay the cost of the insurance premium; the commissioner of administration shall 7
adopt regulations to implement this paragraph; 8
(12) each licensee holding a current operating agreement for a vending 9
facility under AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210 shall be covered by the group policy that 10
applies to governmental units other than the state; 11
(13) a group health insurance policy covering employees of a 12
participating governmental unit must meet the requirements of AS 21.42.427. 13
* Sec. 5. AS 39.30.091 is amended to read: 14
Sec. 39.30.091. Authorization for self-insurance and excess loss insurance. 15
Notwithstanding AS 21.86.310 or AS 39.30.090, the Department of Administration 16
may provide, by means of self-insurance, one or more of the benefits listed in 17
AS 39.30.090(a)(1) for state employees eligible for the benefits by law or under a 18
collective bargaining agreement and for persons receiving benefits under AS 14.25, 19
AS 22.25, AS 39.35, or former AS 39.37, and their dependents. The department shall 20
procure any necessary excess loss insurance under AS 39.30.090. A self-insured 21
group medical plan covering active state employees provided under this section is 22
subject to the requirements of AS 21.42.427. 23
* Sec. 6. AS 47.07.065 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 24
(c) The department shall pay for 25
(1) prescription contraceptives intended to last for a 12-month period 26
for subsequent dispensings of the same prescription contraceptive if prescribed to and 27
requested by the recipient, regardless of whether the recipient was receiving medical 28
assistance at the time of the first dispensing; and 29
(2) consultations, examinations, procedures, and medical services that 30
are necessary to 31
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(A) prescribe, dispense, insert, distribute, or administer 1
prescription contraceptives; or 2
(B) remove prescription contraceptives. 3
(d) Nothing in this section requires itemized reimbursement when a service is 4
reimbursable as part of a bundled or composite rate. 5
(e) In this section, "prescription contraceptive" means a drug or device that 6
requires a prescription and is approved by the United States Food and Drug 7
Administration to prevent pregnancy. 8
* Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 9
read: 10
MEDICAID STATE PLAN FEDERAL APPROVAL. To the extent necessary to 11
implement this Act, the Department of Health shall amend and submit for federal approval the 12
state plan for medical assistance coverage consistent with AS 47.07.065(c) - (e), enacted by 13
sec. 6 of this Act. 14
* Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 15
read: 16
CONDITIONAL EFFECT; NOTIFICATION. (a) Section 6 of this Act takes effect 17
only if, on or before January 1, 2028, the United States Department of Health and Human 18
Services 19
(1) approves the amendments to the state plan for medical assistance coverage 20
under AS 47.07.065(c) - (e), enacted by sec. 6 of this Act; or 21
(2) determines that its approval of the amendments to the state plan for 22
medical assistance coverage under AS 47.07.065(c) - (e), enacted by sec. 6 of this Act, is not 23
necessary. 24
(b) The commissioner of health shall notify the revisor of statutes in writing within 30 25
days after the United States Department of Health and Human Services approves amendments 26
to the state plan under (a)(1) of this section or determines that approval is not necessary under 27
(a)(2) of this section. 28
* Sec. 9. If sec. 6 of this Act takes effect, it takes effect on the day after the date the revisor 29
of statutes receives notice from the commissioner of health under sec. 8(b) of this Act. 30