Health insurers are facing pressure from the Biden administration to ensure they have complete contraceptive coverage as required by Obamacare, a move that comes just days after the US Supreme Court decision that leaves abortion rights up to individual states.
The secretaries of health and human services, labor, and the Treasury met with major health insurance companies Monday to discuss the issue and confirm that any patient on their plans can access birth control at no cost.
The Affordable Care Act requires that all health insurance plans cover at least one type of contraception within each category designated by the Food and Drug Administration at no cost.
Reproductive rights advocates worry that conservatives will target the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision, which protected rights to birth control, now that the high court court has overturned Roe v. Wade.
Secretaries Xavier Becerra, Marty Walsh, and Janet Yellen, also wrote to health plans reminding them of the ACA’s requirements, which apply in all 50 states. The officials wrote that they “continue to receive complaints of non-compliance” and “may take enforcement or other corrective actions as appropriate.”
“We are calling on the industry to remove impermissible barriers and ensure individuals have access to the contraceptive coverage they need, as required under the law,” the officials wrote. “It is more important than ever to ensure access to contraceptive coverage with no out-of-pocket costs under the Affordable Care Act.”
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider its opinion in the Griswold case in his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
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