The Oregon Senate on Wednesday approved 20-7 a bill... (SB 756) that would require insurance policies that provide prescription drug coverage to include prescription contraceptives in their formularies, the Oregonian reports. State Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown (D) said that the measure is necessary because only one in three Oregon women have contraceptive coverage, according to the Oregonian. Opponents of the bill said it would raise health care costs and force women who are opposed to contraception to have an "unnecessary and unwanted" provision in their health plans, according to the Oregonian. A similar measure (HB 2509) is pending in the state House Health and Human Services Committee, but the committee's chair, state Rep. Billy Dalto (R), has said that he will be "cautious" about any bill that might mandate new health care costs, according to the Oregonian (Walsh, Oregonian, 3/24). Although the federal government is required to offer contraceptive coverage to all its employees as a result of a 2000 ruling by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the ruling did not require insurance companies to do the same. As of mid-February, 21 states have passed laws requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/15).

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