HB 1499 Fact Sheet
Expanding Access to Birth Control: Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC)
HB 1499 - Rep. Dogan (R-98, St. Louis)
House Bill 1499 expands access to long-acting reversible contraception — the most reliable form of birth control — while cutting red tape and saving taxpayer dollars.
Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is the most effective form of birth control available. Recognizing the effectiveness and the systemic barriers to accessing LARC, major professional medical societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), endorse making LARC widely available to women. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommend LARC counseling, insertion, and removal as essential components of quality family planning service provision.
MO HealthNet patients receiving LARC through a specialty pharmacy must make two visits to a provider, first for the prescription and order, second for the insertion. If the patient is not able to return for the second visit, the device, assigned specifically to her by MO HealthNet, becomes abandoned.
The best medical and fiscal approach would be to allow the LARC to be used with another patient, but MO HealthNet regulations prevent this approach.
House Bill 1499 cuts red tape and saves taxpayer dollars.
House Bill 1499 would allow a provider to transfer an unopened, unused LARC that they prescribed for one MO HealthNet patient to a different MO HealthNet patient. In addition to saving taxpayer dollars, this would allow for same-day insertion, saving time and money for the patient and the provider. The fiscal note on HB 1499 estimates 1,100 abandoned LARC could be transferred to new patients, resulting in $220,000 in general revenue savings annually.
LARC is the most effective form of birth control.
LARC refers to two different kinds of birth control devices: the implant and the intrauterine device (IUD). LARC is a convenient method because it requires no effort for three to ten years after insertion. LARC is also highly effective, with less than one pregnancy per 100 women per year.
Expanding access to birth control improves Missourians’ health and lives.
House Bill 1499 will allow more Missourians to access the most effective form of birth control available, reducing unintended pregnancies and allowing them to plan whether and when to grow their families.