Plan B and all forms of birth control will soon be free in Maryland. This is a first for any U.S. state. Governor Larry Hogan signed the Contraceptive Equity Act into law with lobbying help from Planned Parenthood. The law requires insurance companies to cover all federally approved birth control. The act requires people to acquire up to six-month supply of birth control at a time, eliminates requirements for a prescription for over the counter birth control, and ends pre- approval requirements for IUDs (Intrauterine Devices). The law expands to Obamacare, which at first only made prescription birth control free. This is good news for men too, because vasectomies will be 100% covered.
The bill came about last summer when states across the country were no longer funding Planned Parenthood. Delegates in Maryland wanted a bill that would continue to give women free access to family planning.
Religious organizations that provide healthcare for employees are exempt from the act and can choose not to cover birth control. Other states such as California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, have passed similar laws, but many of them do not offer vasectomies or the morning after pill.
The Maryland law goes into effect January 1, 2018 to give insurers time to prepare.
Check out this video from NowThis! about the new law: