The proposal would allow individuals and their covered dependents to “navigate their own care and still obtain birth control at no cost in the event their plan or insurer has a religious exemption.”
The Biden administration is proposing an expansion of contraceptive coverage, including removing moral exemptions finalized under the Trump administration that made it easier for private health plans and insurers to exclude coverage of birth control.
It would also establish a new independent pathway for individuals enrolled in plans or coverage offered by religious employers to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a willing provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services. The so-called “individual contraceptive arrangement” would be available to the participant, beneficiary or enrollee without the plan sponsor or issuer having to take any action it objects to.
“Now more than ever, access to and coverage of birth control is critical as the Biden-Harris Administration works to help ensure women everywhere can get the contraception they need, when they need it, and – thanks to the ACA – with no out-of-pocket cost,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
“We wanted to make sure that in this very, very critical time that everyone had access to [a] caregiver they might need, and they should not be obstructed based on a basis that is impermissible by law.” The rule extended the provision to organizations and small businesses that have objections “on the basis of moral conviction which is not based in any particular religious belief.”
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