The Biden administration is proposing a rule that would provide women with private insurance access to over-the-counter birth control pills and other contraceptives at no cost, according to the White House. The rule would expand a federal mandate requiring health insurers to cover preventative care services at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act and is being proposed by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury. If finalized, the rule would come into effect in 2025 and would expand contraception coverage for 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance. This would allow women to obtain over-the-counter contraception without a prescription and health plans would have to cover prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing.
The proposed rule covers various forms of over-the-counter contraceptives, including emergency contraception like the morning-after pill, spermicides, birth control sponges, and condoms. It will also require health plans to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and some devices, such as IUDs, without cost sharing in many cases. The rule would require plans to disclose whether over-the-counter contraceptives are covered with cost-sharing or a prescription.
This proposal comes shortly before the 2024 presidential election, where abortion rights have been a key issue. Vice President Kamala Harris has made access to abortion a central part of her campaign, while former President Donald Trump has stated that abortion laws should be determined by individual states. The rule aims to increase access to contraception and reproductive health care for women under private health insurance plans.
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