Connecticut Contraception Insurance Coverage Refusal Clause

Connecticut General Statutes sections 38a–503e requires individual health insurance policies to include coverage for prescription contraceptive methods approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

However, any insurance company, hospital or medical service corporation, or health care center may issue to a religious employer an individual health insurance policy that excludes coverage for prescription contraceptive methods which are contrary to the religious employer’s bona fide religious tenets.

The law, enacted in 1999, defines religious employer to mean “an employer that is a ‘qualified church-controlled organization’ as defined in 26 USC 3121 or a church-affiliated organization.”

Any health-insurance policy that excludes coverage for prescription contraceptive methods due to an employer’s religious refusal must provide the insured or prospective insured with written notice of the exclusion.

The law prohibits health insurance policies from excluding coverage for prescription drugs ordered by a health care provider with prescriptive authority for reasons other than contraceptive purposes.

Insurance providers owned, operated, or substantially controlled by a religious organization that has religious or moral tenets that conflict with contraceptive coverage may provide for coverage of prescription contraceptive methods through another entity offering a limited benefit plan. Such coverage would need to have the same cost, terms, and availability as other prescription coverage offered to the insured.

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