By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 approval of the over-the-counter contraceptive Opill, the state Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to expand state coverage laws to include such non-prescription medication.

As the market continues to change, the goal of Senate Bill 232, sponsored by Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, D-Talleyville, is to ensure there are no gaps in insurance coverage for contraceptives.

With the non-emergency preventative Opill already being distributed on the market, the senator said the proposal would add the medication under the same coverage structure offered to emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B.

“Delaware, like many other states, before we have federal regulations in this area, we’ll need to determine how to ensure that there’s no gaps in insurance coverage simply because the formulation is available in the over-the counter-format, rather than with the former prescription format,” the senator said on the Senate floor.

Almost half of the approximately 6.1 million annual pregnancies in the United States are unintended, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Further, the availability of Opill following its federal approval last July will help curb the potential negative effects related to unintended pregnancies, the agency reported.

These potential impacts relate to negative maternal and perinatal outcomes, including a reduced probability of receiving early prenatal care and increased risk of preterm delivery, with “associated adverse neonatal, developmental and child health outcomes.”

Under Senate Bill 232, insurance carriers must provide coverage for non-emergency contraceptive methods in all health plans offered by the state.

If the legislation becomes law, Delawareans will have the option to buy such medication without a prescription online or at drug, convenience and grocery stores.

There was little discussion regarding the proposal on the Senate floor, though Sen. Bryant Richardson, R-Seaford, questioned if medications like Plan B would be covered, with Sen. Gay clarifying that such treatment is already covered under Delaware Code.

“I want to be clear. The bill is written broad enough so that any preventative contraception would be covered regardless of that formation, leaving it up to the medical professionals to decide what should be provided over the counter,” Sen. Gay said in response. “Currently, we know that Opill is the only formulation that would fall under the bill as amended.”

Following the brief testimony, all 21 senators voted in favor of the proposal, sending it to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Bill 232 has since been assigned to the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance and Commerce Committee for a hearing. The committee has not scheduled a meeting for next week, but typically meets every Tuesday.