Agile Therapeutics has provided updates on strengthening the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) no-cost contraceptive coverage requirement.
Takeaways
- Agile Therapeutics has discussed updates in strengthening the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) no-cost contraceptive coverage requirement.
- The House Committee released a report emphasizing the barriers and inequalities related to contraceptive care, recommending steps to address coverage gaps in guidance.
- The Biden Administration, in line with the Executive Order on June 23, 2023, is making efforts to improve contraception access. This includes a letter sent to Departments implementing ACA contraceptive coverage requirements.
- Multiple meetings, including one on October 27, 2023, have been held to discuss the implementation of the President's Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Contraceptive Care to continue progress made under the ACA.
- If the guidance revisions discussed in the report are implemented, it is projected that access to no-cost contraception may become available for 49 million reproductive-aged women.
Recently, the House Committee released a report titled, “Revised Federal Guidance Regarding Contraceptive Coverage Could Benefit Millions of Women,” discussing barriers and inequalities related to contraceptive care which prevent women from receiving the most appropriate contraceptive.
The report was released following an earlier report revealing exclusions and cost-sharing requirements frequently placed on contraceptive products.These findings led to a recommendation to address coverage gaps in guidance. This can be accomplished by requiring coverage for all generic contraceptives on plan formularies.
Additionally, the report supports multiple efforts from the Biden Administration and lawmakers to improve contraception access. These efforts were discussed in an Executive Order on June 23, 2023.
One of these efforts was a letter sent to the Secretaries of the Departments implementing ACA contraceptive coverage requirements on November 16, 2023, requesting information on efforts to enforce the ACA’s no-cost contraceptive coverage requirement.
The letter also mentioned a state investigation finding failure to provide no-cost contraceptive services from 3 insurers in Vermont. These findings led to a required restitution of nearly 1 and half million dollars.
Multiple meetings have also been held to determine methods of implementing the President’s Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Contraceptive Care. During a meeting on October 27, 2023, Administration leaders discussed how to continue progress made under the ACA.
One method discussed was implementing a June 2023 Executive order on reproductive health care access. This Executive order stated federal agencies should, “ensure coverage of comprehensive contraceptive care, including all contraceptives approved, granted, or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, without cost sharing for enrollees, participants, and beneficiaries.”
If guidance revisions discussed in the report are implemented, access to no-cost contraception may be available for 49 million reproductive-aged women.
Reference
Agile Therapeutics provides update on actions being taken to strengthen the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost contraceptive coverage requirement. Agile Therapeutics. December 12, 2023. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://ir.agiletherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/agile-therapeutics-provides-update-actions-being-taken
