New Guidance Puts Finer Point on Birth Control Coverage Rules

January 25

On Jan. 22, the 51st anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration seized the opportunity to reaffirm its support for reproductive rights — a stance it appears to be increasingly emphasizing as the 2024 presidential election draws near. As part of that effort, three federal agencies issued new guidance to help health plans and issuers avoid running afoul of the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate.

Health policy experts who spoke to AIS Health, a division of MMIT, say that the guidance could be a helpful tool for compliance-focused insurers, as it outlines the narrow set of circumstances in which a health plan doesn’t have to fully cover certain types of birth control.

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Radar on Drug Benefits

Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.