Idahoans can now get six months of birth control under new law

More Idahoans can now receive up to a half year of prescription birth control medication at a time.

That’s thanks to a new law the Idaho Legislature narrowly passed in 2024.

The law — passed through Senate Bill 1234 — requires insurance companies to cover six months of prescription contraception coverage for health plans starting Jan. 1.

In debate, bill sponsor Idaho Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said the new law would make it easier for women who can only access a one- or three-month supply of birth control through insurance.

“This policy represents a significant step forward in supporting Idahoans’ health, economic stability and autonomy at a time our draconian, conflicting reproductive rights laws have led to pregnant women being airlifted to Utah and more than 22% of our OBGYNs fleeing the state,” Wintrow wrote in a column published Thursday in the Idaho Statesman.

One-third of female contraceptive users missed taking their birth control because they couldn’t get their next supply in time, according to a 2022 survey by KFF, a health policy research group formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Wintrow has said she’s attempted to pass similar legislation three times, and this is the fifth time such a bill has made its way through the Capitol. Last year, the bill passed the House by one vote, and the Senate by three votes.

The bill specifies it isn’t requiring insurance companies to cover emergency contraception or medications to induce abortions.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.