Cantwell, Murray Join Call to Protect Women’s Access to Contraceptive Coverage
In May, the
Today's letter to the
"As Members of
The ACA requires health insurance plans to cover the full range of
Full letter text below and here https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/download/aca-birth-control-letter.
CMS-9931-NC
P.O. Box 8010
Re: CMS-9931-NC; Coverage for Contraceptive Services
Dear Secretary Burwell,
We write in response to the Request for Information (RFI) published by the Departments of
The legislative history of the ACA clearly demonstrates that
In crafting the ACA,
The benefits afforded in the ACA are based on the
The ACA and its Implementing Regulations are
Since the passage of the ACA, inequities in health care for women have been declining. The ACA improved access to health care coverage for an estimated 65 million women with preexisting conditions, and, as of
A critical component of this improvement in women's health care is cost-free contraceptive coverage, which has resulted in dramatic savings for millions of women. According to a study published in the journal Health Affairs, "before the [requirement's] implementation, out-of-pocket expenses for contraceptives for women using them represented a significant portion (30- 44 percent) of these women's total out-of-pocket health care spending."9 After the law's implementation, the median out-of-pocket per prescription cost dropped to zero for almost all contraceptives, suggesting that the majority of women no longer faced out-of-pocket costs for contraception--as intended by the ACA. The study showed an estimated savings of
The ACA and its Implementing Regulations Appropriately Balance the Need to Ensure Cost-Free Coverage for Women While Accommodating Religious Exercise
The original contraception accommodation was designed to permit eligible nonprofit religious organizations to opt out of the coverage requirement on the basis of religious objections, while ensuring that employees who do not share their employer's religious beliefs about contraception could still obtain coverage from their health insurance. Under this accommodation, eligible nonprofit organizations are not required to "contract, arrange, pay, or refer for contraceptive coverage," but plan participants and beneficiaries still receive coverage without cost-sharing. It represents a balance of
A recent study conducted by the
Some have proposed that women whose employers will not provide contraceptive coverage obtain such coverage through government programs or that the responsibility be shifted from the employer and the federal government to the women employees. Such a proposal would leave women without the seamless access to coverage
The unavailability or inadequacy of contraceptive coverage not only fails to promote women's health but also creates a two-tiered system, one for women and one for everyone else that "places women in the workforce at a disadvantage compared to their male co-workers. Such proposals would require women take additional steps and potentially incur greater expense, to obtain an important part of their coverage elsewhere, when their male counterparts are not required to take such steps to obtain the full coverage mandated for them--the very result that the ACA was intended to prevent.
In light of the
We, the undersigned, strongly support the accommodation in its current form and urge the Departments not to modify the policy.
Sincerely,
Read this original document at: https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell-murray-join-call-to-protect-womens-access-to-contraceptive-coverage
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News