GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                   D

HOUSE DRH90056-ME-7B  (10/10)

Short Title:        Health Care Conscience Protection Act.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Schaffer, Conrad, R. Brown, and Martin (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to modify certain laws pertaining to abortion and to Contraceptive health insurance coverage.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14-45.1(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e)       Nothing in this section shall require a physician licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina or Carolina, any nurse nurse, or any other health care provider who shall state an objection to abortion on moral, ethical, or religious grounds, to perform or participate in medical procedures which result in an abortion. The refusal of such physician a physician, nurse, or health care provider to perform or participate in these medical procedures shall not be a basis for damages for such the refusal, or for any disciplinary or any other recriminatory action against such physician.the physician, nurse, or health care provider. For purposes of this section, the phrase "health care provider" shall have the same meaning as defined under G.S. 90-410(1)."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 14-45.1(f) reads as rewritten:

"(f)       Nothing in this section shall require a hospital orhospital, other health care institution institution, or other health care provider to perform an abortion or to provide abortion services."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 58-3-178(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e)       A religious employer may request an insurer providing a health benefit plan to provide to the religious employer a health benefit plan that excludes coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs or devices that are contrary to the employer's religious tenets. Upon request, the insurer shall provide the requested health benefit plan. An insurer providing a health benefit plan requested by a religious employer pursuant to this section shall provide written notice to each person covered under the health benefit plan that prescription contraceptive drugs or devices are excluded from coverage pursuant to this section at the request of the employer. The notice shall appear, in not less than 10-point type, in the health benefit plan, application, and sales brochure for the health benefit plan. Nothing in this subsection authorizes a health benefit plan to exclude coverage for prescription drugs ordered by a health care provider with prescriptive authority for reasons other than contraceptive purposes, or for prescription contraception that is necessary to preserve the life or health of a person covered under the plan. As used in this subsection, the term "religious employer" means an entity for which all of the following are true:

(1) The entity is organized and operated for religious purposes and is tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

(2) The inculcation of religious values is one of the primary purposes of the entity.

(3) The entity employs primarily persons who share the religious tenets of the entity.

includes any employer, including, but not limited to, a corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship, whether on a for-profit or nonprofit basis, that has a religious, moral, or ethical objection to arranging for, paying for, facilitating, or providing health benefits plan coverage for contraceptive drugs or methods, including, but not limited to, any and all contraceptive drugs and methods approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law. Section 3 applies to plans in effect when this act is effective to the extent allowable by either the United States or North Carolina Constitution.