Expanding Birth Control Access

The health care law makes preventive care more accessible and affordable to millions of Americans. This is especially important to women, who are more likely than men to avoid needed health care, including preventive care, because of cost. To help address these cost barriers and make sure all women have access to preventive health care, one section of the health care law requires all new and non-grandfathered private insurance plans to cover a wide range of preventive services, including services such as mammograms, pap smears, smoking prevention and contraceptives without co-payments or other cost sharing requirements.

Access to safe and reliable contraception is an essential component of health care for women. The health care law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), appropriately recognizes contraception as a key preventive health service for women, and requires all new insurance plans to provide coverage of the full range of FDA-approved contraceptives without cost-sharing for women. Before this important national victory for women’s health, some health insurance plans excluded coverage for prescription contraceptives even while covering other prescription drugs and devices and preventive care. That gender gap in health care coverage was challenged by states all across the country, which specifically passed laws to require contraceptive equity in health insurance coverage. There are 26 states with contraceptive equity laws. These state laws are the focus of this Consumer Guide.