SB 198: "An Act relating to a study of the effectiveness and cost of providing long-acting reversible contraception to women with substance abuse disorders."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 198 01 "An Act relating to a study of the effectiveness and cost of providing long-acting 02 reversible contraception to women with substance abuse disorders." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA; STUDY OF LONG-ACTING REVERSIBLE 07 CONTRACEPTION FOR WOMEN WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS. (a) The 08 University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies shall conduct a 09 study to evaluate the effectiveness of providing long-acting reversible contraception to 10 women with substance abuse disorders who are at high risk for unintended pregnancies that 11 may result in prenatal drug or alcohol exposure. The university shall collaborate with 12 hospitals and health care providers in the state who treat women with substance abuse 13 disorders to 14 (1) establish an advisory council to assist with designing and implementing
01 the study; 02 (2) evaluate best practices for treating women and children when there is a 03 high risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; 04 (3) facilitate the creation of an effective network of hospitals and service 05 providers for the sharing of best practices; 06 (4) identify women and children to participate in the study on a voluntary 07 basis; 08 (5) provide long-acting reversible contraception to participants in the study 09 who are at high risk for unintended pregnancies that may result in prenatal drug or alcohol 10 exposure; 11 (6) evaluate the costs of providing long-acting reversible contraception and the 12 effectiveness of long-acting reversible contraception in reducing the occurrence of neonatal 13 abstinence syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; 14 (7) develop a cohort of women and children, through the study, who can be 15 evaluated in later studies that assess the costs and long-term effects of neonatal abstinence 16 syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the state; and 17 (8) provide a data-driven framework to establish a comprehensive strategy for 18 using long-acting reversible contraception to reduce the occurrence of neonatal abstinence 19 syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the state. 20 (b) The University of Alaska shall complete a final report and two interim reports 21 describing the results of the study, evaluating the cost and effectiveness of providing long- 22 acting reversible contraceptives to women in substance abuse treatment programs, and 23 providing recommendations for treating pregnant women who have substance abuse disorders 24 and improving the health and well-being of children who have been exposed to alcohol or 25 drugs before birth. The university shall complete the first interim report not later than June 30, 26 2019, the second interim report not later than June 30, 2020, and the final report not later than 27 June 30, 2021, and submit each report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house 28 of representatives and notify the legislature that each report is available. 29 (c) In this section, 30 (1) "fetal alcohol spectrum disorder" means a condition of impaired brain 31 function in the range of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol
01 during pregnancy; 02 (2) "long-acting reversible contraception" means a method of birth control that 03 prevents a woman from becoming pregnant for an extended time without requiring action by 04 the user, but that can be reversed to allow the woman to become pregnant; 05 (3) "neonatal abstinence syndrome" describes symptoms that occur in a 06 newborn child who was exposed to addictive drugs before birth as a result of the 07 discontinuation of exposure to the drugs at birth. 08 * Sec. 2. Section 1 of this Act is repealed June 30, 2021.