New rule proposes to expand access to contraceptives

Together, the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury proposed a rule this week to expand access to contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act.

According to the ACA, most plans must offer contraception coverage with no out-of-pocket costs. The new rule proposes to expand and strengthen access to this coverage so that all women who need or want birth control can get it.

The Biden administration called this action the latest attempt to expand access to contraceptives for free.

The ACA and its rules guarantee free coverage of preventive services for women, including contraceptives and contraceptive counseling, for women enrolled in group health plans or private health insurance.

WHAT IMPACT

In 2018, final rules expanded the exemptions for religious beliefs and moral beliefs, allowing private health plans and insurance companies to exclude coverage for contraceptive services. The new proposed rules would abolish the moral exemption and keep the existing religious exemption.

The 2018 rules also include an add-on that allows objecting employers and private colleges and universities to exempt themselves from providing contraceptives while guaranteeing women and insured dependents enrolled in their plans access contraceptive services at no additional charge. Under the 2018 rules, these insured women and dependents will only get this access to contraceptives if their employer, college or university voluntarily chooses housing, leaving many of them without access to free contraceptives. funds, the department said.

The proposed rules aim to provide greater access to contraceptive services by creating an independent path for people enrolled in plans offered by objecting organizations to make their own choice of accessing contraceptive services directly through a voluntary contraceptive provider at no cost.

This, the departments said, will allow covered women and dependents to continue to receive free contraceptives if their plan or insurance company has a religious exemption or has not opted for an accessory if it qualifies. The proposed rules would uphold the existing religious exemption for entities and individuals with objections, as well as an optional coverage fixture.

BIG TREND

Departments have taken a number of actions to expand access to birth control. They previously convened a meeting with health insurers and urged the industry to commit to providing contraceptive coverage as required by the ACA.

The departments also issued guidance explaining birth control protections under the ACA following efforts by several states to restrict access to contraceptives in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. HHS also announced nearly $3 million in new funding to support training and technical assistance for Title X’s nationwide network of family planning providers.

In August, HHS released a report on actions taken to ensure access to reproductive health, including contraceptives, following the Supreme Court ruling, with more details on future actions and commitments.

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