The Biden administration is proposing legislation to make birth control free

The Biden administration is proposing legislation that would expand access to contraceptive products, including making birth control and condoms free for the first time for women of childbearing age with health insurance. private.

Under a proposal by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury, announced by the administration on Monday, health insurance companies will be required to cover all products recommended contraceptives, such as condoms, spermicide and emergency contraception, are available without a prescription and free of charge, according to senior administration officials.

It would also require health insurance providers to inform beneficiaries of products that are sold at low cost.

The proposed legislation comes as the Biden administration seeks to expand access to contraception and as reproductive health, including access to abortion, has become a central issue in the 2024 presidential election campaign. Republican-led states have restricted access to abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. About half of the states now prohibit or strongly prohibit abortion, which coincides with a sharp decline in prescriptions for birth control and emergency contraception in those states.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said that when health care insurers impose onerous administrative or cost-sharing requirements for services, “access to contraception becomes more difficult.”

“We’ve heard from women who need some form of birth control but the cost of their prescription isn’t covered by their health insurance. We’ve made it clear that in all 50 states the Affordable Care Act is provide coverage for women’s preventive services without cost sharing, including all contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration,” Becerra told reporters. “This proposed legislation will build on the progress we have already made under the Affordable Care Act to help ensure that more women can access the contraceptive services they need without and out-of-pocket expenses.”

The products can be made available in the same way that drugs are dispensed, such as over the counter at a pharmacy, according to senior administration officials. Getting the products through reimbursement may also be an option, depending on the health insurance plan, officials said.

Birth control became available to those with insurance without a copay thanks to the Affordable Care Act, but that required a prescription.

In July 2023, the daily birth control pill, Opill, became the first over-the-counter birth control pill to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It became available for purchase online in March and can be purchased for $19.99.

The Biden administration in January announced several actions aimed at increasing access to abortion and contraception, including the Office of Labor Management issuing guidance to insurers that will expand access to contraception for government employees, families and pensioners.

There will be a comment period on the proposed law and if approved, it could take effect in 2025, according to senior administration officials.

However, if former President Donald Trump wins the election, he could change the law.

NPR’s Sydney Lupkin and Bill Chappell contributed to this report.