HHS proposes new rule to expand birth control access under the ACA
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made history when it ensured birth control access with no co-payment, but recent changes to reproductive healthcare in the United States have led the Biden administration to propose strengthening access.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a new rule that would expand access to contraception under the ACA “so that all women who need or want birth control are able to obtain it,” the agency said in a statement dated Jan. 30. The move comes after the Supreme Court overturned the groundbreaking court case that guaranteed the right to abortion care services in the United States in June 2022. The move prompted several states to immediately restrict access to abortion care services. In addition, the Supreme Court noted in its June opinion that it could reconsider cases related to the right to contraception, which was guaranteed in 1965.
HHS proposed removing a loophole to the mandated coverage of contraception that enables private health plans and insurers to exclude coverage of contraceptive services on the grounds of religious beliefs and moral convictions. The exemptions were expanded in 2018 “an optional accommodation that allows objecting employers and private colleges and universities to completely remove themselves from providing birth control coverage while ensuring women and covered dependents enrolled in their plans can access contraceptive services at no additional charge,” HHS stated.
That means that under the 2018 rule, many women and covered dependents would get this contraceptive access only if their employer or college or university voluntarily elects the accommodation. And many have been left without coverage for contraceptives at no cost.
“Now more than ever, access to and coverage of birth control is critical as the Biden-Harris Administration works to help ensure women everywhere can get the contraception they need, when they need it, and––thanks to the ACA––with no out-of-pocket cost,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Today’s proposed rule works to ensure that the tens of millions of women across the country who have and will benefit from the ACA will be protected. It says to women across the country, we have your back.”
Under the proposed rule, women and their dependents who are enrolled in a plan or with an insurer with a religious exemption that has not elected the optional accommodation can still receive contraceptive care at no cost. HHS will create an individual pathway to access to contraceptive services for these eligible individuals directly through a willing contraceptive provider without any cost. The proposed rule leaves in place the existing religious exemption for entities and individuals with objections, as well as the optional accommodation for coverage.
The move is just one of the ways the Biden administration is aiming to expand access to reproductive healthcare services at a time when Republican-led efforts are attempting to pull back these health rights. Namely, HHS, the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury previously met with health insurers and reminded them of their obligations to provide contraceptive coverage as required by the ACA. The departments also published a guidance to clarify protections for birth control coverage under the ACA.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."