At a time when Republicans are seeking to control when women start their families by ending abortion protections and healthcare, the Biden administration is proposing a rule that would provide women with private insurance access to over-the-counter birth control pills and other contraceptives at no cost.
The White House announced the new rule on Monday which would expand a federal mandate requiring health insurers to cover preventative care services at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act. The new plan would also provide free birth control for those on Medicaid.
Proposed by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury, the new provision would go into effect as soon as 2025 if finalized.
Currently, only Opill, a daily birth control pill, is approved for sale without a prescription by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But the proposed rule covers other forms of over-the-counter contraceptives, including emergency contraception such as the "morning-after pill" Plan B, spermicides, birth control sponges, and condoms.
"This rule, once finalized, will expand contraception coverage for 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance," White House Gender Policy Council Director Jennifer Klein said during a briefing.
"For the first time ever, women would be able to obtain over-the-counter contraception without a prescription at no additional cost, and health plans would have to cover even more prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing," she said.
The new rule will also require that health plans cover all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and some devices, including IUDs, without cost sharing in many cases.