WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday announced it is proposing a rule that would expand access to over-the-counter birth control and condoms without a prescription at no cost.
According to senior administration officials, under the proposed rule, health insurance companies would be required to cover all recommended over-the-counter contraception products for free. This would include condoms, spermicide and emergency contraception.
The proposed rule comes just 15 days before the Election as the Biden administration to expand access to contraceptives and as other reproductive health following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in the summer of 2022. Reproductive rights has become a key issue for voters in a critical election year and Vice President Kamala Harris has made it a central issue for her campaign.
“Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked legislation to protect the right to contraception across the country,” Harris said in a statement. “They have also consistently refused to protect access to IVF, and continue to propose national abortion bans.”
Harris has warned that former President Donald Trump would eliminate reproductive health access if he returns to the White House. Trump has said he would not support restricting birth control but has also claimed he was “looking at” contraceptives when asked whether he supported any restrictions to the right to contraception.
Under The Affordable Care Act, it is required that most private health plans cover contraception with no cost sharing but insurance companies are allowed to require a prescription.
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, reproductive health care has been under attack,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Friday. “That means preventative services like contraception are more important than ever. And when health care plans and issuers impose unduly burdensome administrative or cost sharing requirements for services, access to contraceptives becomes even more difficult.”
