Nation in brief_102324

White House rule would expand access to cost-free birth control

The Biden administration on Monday proposed making over-the-counter contraception available at no cost and with fewer administrative hurdles.

"Today, my Administration is taking a major step to expand contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This new action would help ensure that millions of women with private health insurance can access the no-cost contraception they need," President Joe Biden said in statement.

The proposed rule — issued jointly by the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury — seeks to require insurance plans to cover OTC contraceptives at no cost and without a prescription for individuals with commercial insurance plans. Health plans would also be required to tell beneficiaries about the policy and would expand their required coverage of preventive services for prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing.

Under the 2010 health care law, most private insurance plans must cover birth control without cost sharing. Currently patients can get coverage without cost sharing for over-the-counter contraceptives, including oral contraceptives, spermicide and condoms with a prescription, such as female condoms, or through their provider in a health facility, or for long-acting services like an IUD, which is an intrauterine birth control device.

If finalized, the rule would require plans to make all available OTC contraceptive products available through in-network pharmacies. A senior administration official said logistics would be clarified in the final version of the rule.

Jennifer Klein, assistant to the president and director of the White House Gender Policy Council, called the proposed change the "most significant expansion of contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act in more than a decade" in a call with reporters.

The proposed change comes on the heels of the rollout of the first available OTC contraceptive pill earlier this year. The Food and Drug Administration approved the Opill, the progestin-only birth control pill made by HRA Pharma, in July 2023. Progestin is a synthetic hormone used in birth control.

The pill became available in March 2024 for $19.99 for a one-month supply or $49.99 for three months, but advocates have called for bringing down the price and requiring insurance coverage of the drug.

Energy grants aim to harden grid against events like Helene, Milton

The Energy Department on Friday announced $2 billion in grants to fund 32 grid improvement projects intended to protect against extreme weather and increase grid capacity.

The projects span 42 states and the District of Columbia and support activities such as mitigating wildfire risk and upgrading aging infrastructure. The department estimated that they would create nearly 6,000 jobs, with more than 80 percent of those jobs using International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers labor. The projects would also add 7.5 gigawatts of grid capacity, which the department said would speed up interconnection for new clean energy projects.

President Joe Biden previously announced six of the projects, which will be located in communities impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton, during his visit to Florida to survey damage on Oct. 13.

USDA offers clean energy funding, including swing-state projects

The Agriculture Department said Friday it would make $746.5 million in funding available for farms and small businesses to invest in clean energy through the Rural Energy for America and Empowering Rural America programs, including in the electoral swing states of Pennsylvania and Michigan.

The USDA will make $600 million available for REAP to help agricultural producers and rural businesses improve energy efficiency with renewable energy. The funds will be provided in three rounds until 2027 and $60 million of the money will go to underutilized renewable energy technology.

"Farmers, rural business owners and electric cooperatives are the backbone of our economy, and we are partnering with them to expand their operations while creating jobs and lowering energy costs," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release.

The USDA also provided $126 million in REAP grants to fund 654 clean energy projects in 39 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. The goal is to help agricultural producers and small businesses expand wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements.

— From wire reports