WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people with private health insurance would be able to get over-the-counter methods such as condoms, the morning-after pill and birth control pills for free under a up-to-date rule the White House proposed Monday.
Currently, health insurance companies must cover the cost of prescribed contraception, including prescription contraceptives or even condoms for which doctors have written a prescription. But the up-to-date rule would expand that coverage and allow millions of people with private health insurance to buy free condoms, birth control pills or morning-after pills from local stores without a prescription.
The proposal comes days before Election Day as Vice President Kamala Harris ties her presidential campaign to a promise to expand women’s access to health care following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision two years ago to strike down nationwide abortion rights. Harris has sought to create a stark contrast with her Republican challenger Donald Trump, who appointed some of the judges who issued the ruling.
“The proposed rule we are announcing today would expand access to contraception at no additional cost to millions of consumers,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Bottom line: Women should have control over their personal health decisions. And issuers and providers are obliged to comply with the law.”
Emergency contraceptives that privately insured people could access for free include levonorgestrel, a pill that must be taken immediately after sex to prevent pregnancy and is better known by the brand name “Plan B.”
Without a doctor’s prescription, women can pay up to $50 for a pack of the pills. And women who delay purchasing the drug to get a doctor’s prescription could be jeopardizing the pill’s effectiveness, as it is most likely to prevent pregnancy within 72 hours of sex.
If the up-to-date rule is implemented, insurers would also have to fully cover the cost of once-daily Opill, a up-to-date over-the-counter birth control pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year. A month’s supply of the pills costs $20.
The Affordable Care Act established federal regulations for private health insurance coverage of contraceptives, which provided plans to cover the cost of FDA-approved contraceptives prescribed by a physician as a preventative measure.
The proposed rule would have no impact on Medicaid, the insurance program for the poorest Americans. States are largely left to set their own rules for Medicaid coverage of contraception, and few cover over-the-counter methods like Plan B or condoms.
