ALBANY (AP) -- New York state on Monday warned health insurers they would lose state contracts if women on Medicaid are denied their choice of higher-cost, brand-name contraceptives unless cheaper, generic methods "fail first."
The move comes after The Associated Press reported Monday that some New York Medicaid patients were told they had to switch to lower-cost contraceptives unless the cheaper measures failed, resulting in pregnancy, bleeding or nausea.
The conflict stems from an apparently unintended consequence of a cost-cutting measure in effect since October. That state measure sought to substitute a cheaper, generic birth control pill for contraceptives such as the monthly NuvaRing or weekly patch.
"If a health plan is not attentive to the needs of its patients, they will no longer be a contracted health plan with New York's Medicaid program," said James Introne, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's deputy secretary for health. "If there is resulting patient discomfort with a health care plan or its policies, it is a situation that the state will remedy."
Introne said that although he sees no "significant level of complaints," it is critical for women to be comfortable with their birth control method.
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