Biden Directs Federal Agencies to Ramp up Efforts to Improve Contraception Access
- June 23, 2023
President Biden signed June 23 an executive order focusing on protecting and expanding access to contraception.
The executive order is the third Biden has issued to shore up access to reproductive health care since the Supreme Court overturned constitutional abortion protections last summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The latest executive order directs the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider new guidance to ensure private health insurers are covering all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives with no cost sharing as required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a White House fact sheet.
The ACA generally requires non-grandfathered group health plans and non-grandfathered group or individual health insurance coverage to cover certain contraceptive services without cost sharing. The current regulations include exemptions from providing coverage of contraceptive services for group health plans, institutions of higher education arranging student health insurance coverage, health insurance issuers, and individuals with religious or moral objections.
In January, the three agencies issued a proposed rule aimed at expanding access to contraceptives by rescinding the broad moral exemption and establishing a new pathway that individuals enrolled in coverage sponsored, arranged, or provided by objecting entities may use to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a willing provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services.
The executive order also directs the agencies to consider new actions to improve access to affordable over-the-counter contraception, including emergency contraception.
In addition, the order calls on HHS to consider new actions to support access to affordable contraception through Medicaid and Medicare.