CNN —
The Biden administration is expected to propose new rules Monday that would require private insurance plans to cover over-the-counter contraceptives without a prescription for free.
Jen Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, called the proposal “the most significant expansion of contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act in more than a decade.”
Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, reproductive health has emerged as a key issue in the White House race. Democrats have warned that the decision will jeopardize access to fertility treatment and contraception in red states across the country. A bill backed by Democrats to legislate access to contraception failed to pass the Senate in June.
On the campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris warned that access to reproductive health would be destroyed if Donald Trump was returned to the White House. Meanwhile, when asked if he supported any restrictions on contraceptive rights, the former president said he did not support restrictions on birth control, shortly after claiming he was “considering” contraceptives.
“Dangerous and extreme abortion bans put women’s health and lives at risk and disrupt access to critical health services, including contraception, as states across the country are forced to close health care providers.” Klein warned during a Friday call with reporters during the preview. The rule added that “Republican lawmakers in each state have made clear that they plan to ban or limit birth control in addition to abortion.”
The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurance plans to cover contraception at no cost. However, insurance companies are allowed to require prescriptions for free over-the-counter contraceptives.
Under the proposed rule, women would have free access to over-the-counter contraceptives such as Plan B emergency contraception, spermicide, and Opil, the first non-prescription daily oral contraceptive approved by the Food and Drug Administration. You won’t need a prescription to do so. A government official said.
The proposed rule would also require insurers to cover all FDA-approved drugs and drug-driven combination products unless the plan also covers comparable treatments. According to the FDA, therapeutic drug equivalents are drugs that contain the same active ingredient in the same amount. Currently, insurance companies must cover only one drug per category of contraceptives, such as oral contraceptives, implants, and IUDs, making it difficult for some women to choose specific drugs for the type of prescription contraceptives they desire. Officials said they are having trouble accessing the combination.
The proposed rule would affect an estimated 52 million women of reproductive age enrolled in private insurance plans, the official said.
“Reproductive health care has been under attack since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Friday. “That means preventive services like contraception are more important than ever, and when health plans and issuers impose unduly burdensome administrative and cost-sharing requirements on services; Access to contraceptives becomes more difficult.”
