Biden administration proposes free over-the-counter birth control

Perrigo

21/10/2024 10:00

By Ahmed Aboulenein
       WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - 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, the White House said on Monday.
    The rule, which expands a federal mandate requiring health
insurers to cover preventative care services at no cost to
patients under the Affordable Care Act, is being proposed by the
Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the
Treasury and would come into effect in 2025 if finalized.
    "This rule, once finalized, will expand contraception
coverage for 52 million women of reproductive age with private
health insurance," White House Gender Policy Council Director
Jennifer Klein said during a briefing.
    "For the first time ever, women would be able to obtain
over-the-counter contraception without a prescription at no
additional cost, and health plans would have to cover even more
prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing," she said.
Perrigo Co's  PRGO.N  Opill is currently the only daily birth
control pill approved for sale without a prescription by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the proposed rule covers
other forms of over-the-counter contraceptives, including
emergency contraception such as morning after pill Plan B,
spermicides, birth control sponges, and condoms.
    The rule will also require that health plans cover all
FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and some devices, including
IUDs, without cost sharing in many cases.
    The rule will also require health plans to cover every
FDA-approved contraceptive drug or drug-led combination product,
such as IUDs, without cost sharing unless the plan also covers a
therapeutic equivalent without cost sharing, and would require
plans to disclose that OTC contraceptives are covered with cost
sharing or a prescription.
    The proposal comes just two weeks before the 2024
presidential election, in which abortion rights has been a key
issue following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v
Wade in 2022. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic
nominee, has made access to abortion central to her campaign. 
    Republican rival former President Donald Trump has bragged
about appointing three of the conservative justices who made the
ruling but has since said abortion laws should be determined by
U.S. states, stopping short of proposing a national ban that
could imperil his chances with swing voters in the November
election.

 (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((mailto:ahmed.aboulenein@tr.com; +1 202-519-3051;))