White House proposes insurers cover cost of over-the-counter birth control

(The Hill) -- The White House on Monday announced a proposal that would require insurers to cover the cost of forms of contraception like over-the-counter birth control pills and condoms under the Affordable Care Act.

The proposed rule would cover emergency contraception like the "Plan B" pill, condoms, non-prescription birth control pills and spermicides. The White House said if approved, the rule would expand coverage of contraception for 52 million women of reproductive age who have private health insurance.

"At a time when contraception access is under attack, Vice President Harris and I are resolute in our commitment to expanding access to quality, affordable contraception," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

"We believe that women in every state must have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including the right to decide if and when to start or grow their family," he added.

"We will continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care and call on Congress to restore reproductive freedom and safeguard the right to contraception once and for all."

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Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has made protecting reproductive rights and abortion access a central pillar of her campaign for the White House. She has repeatedly warned that if former President Donald Trump is elected, Republicans will attempt to restrict access to contraception and abortion.

In a statement on Monday, Harris cited GOP votes against legislation to protect a right to contraception and to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure that has come under scrutiny after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

"President Biden and I stand with the majority of Americans – Republicans and Democrats alike – who support access to contraception," Harris said. "And we continue to call on Congress to pass federal legislation that restores reproductive freedom nationwide."

The Biden White House has taken steps in the aftermath of the Roe v. Wade ruling to try to protect access to birth control.

Trump, who appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe, has taken credit for sending the issue of abortion back to the states and has praised the patchwork of laws as a "beautiful thing to watch," as some states enact near-total bans on the procedure.

The former president has also said he would veto federal legislation to ban abortion if it reached his desk.