Administration Withdraws Proposal to Broaden Access to Birth Control
- January 10, 2025
The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury are withdrawing proposed rules that were aimed at expanding access to contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
According to a notice published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 106393), the agencies decided to withdraw the proposed rules “to focus their time and resources” on other matters and to further consider the proposals in light of the “volume and breadth of scope of the comments received.”
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.
The proposals, issued in February 2023, would have rescinded the moral exemption while leaving in place the existing religious exemption for entities and individuals.
The current regulations also provide an optional accommodation for group health plans and sponsors of student health insurance coverage that allows objecting employers and colleges and universities to 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.
The proposed rules would have established a new pathway, in addition to the optional accommodation, that individuals enrolled in plans or coverage sponsored, arranged, or provided by objecting entities that are not eligible for or have not opted for the existing accommodation could have used to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a willing provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services.