Health Insurance

Women have long faced unfair and discriminatory health insurance practices, including charging women more than men for the same coverage. As new health care reform laws are implemented, we're working to ensure that women can find and afford the insurance they need.

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Fact Sheet | Contraceptive Coverage in the Health Care Law: What’s New as of August 1, 2012?

February 25, 2013

On August 1, 2012, provisions in the health care law requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives with no co-pay went into effect.  In the next few years, as an increasing number of health plans come under the law’s reach, more and more women will have access to all of the FDA-approved forms of contraception with no co-pay. This means that eventually all women with private insurance will get the full range of FDA-approved birth control methods, including oral contraception (the pill), injectables, the ring, contraceptive implants, diaphragms, cervical caps, and non-surgical permanent contraceptives without paying a co-payment or having the costs applied to her deductible.*  Sterilization for women is also covered with no co-pay or deductible.

(For more information on contraceptive coverage and coverage of preventive health services generally, please see Contraceptive Coverage in the Health Care Law: Frequently Asked Questions.)

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Fact Sheet | Women’s Access to Preventive Services Affirmed by HHS

February 22, 2013

On February 20, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services released a set of Frequently Asked Questions which clarified many issues related to implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services requirement.  The FAQ is an important step towards ensuring that insurance plans and issuers implement the Women’s Preventive Health Services provision so that women get the comprehensive and affordable services guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act.  While the FAQ leaves some implementation questions unanswered, the National Women’s Law Center is pleased that the Department addressed several major issues to make sure that women have the coverage required by the law.  The charts below summarize implementation issues and how the FAQ responds to them.

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Fact Sheet | Coverage of the Women’s Preventive Health Services: Calling Your Student Health Plan

February 01, 2013

We’ve updated our materials on calling your insurance plan. Please visit this page.

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Fact Sheet | How To Find Out If Your Health Plan Is Covering Women’s Preventive Services with No Co-Pay, as Required by the Health Care Law

January 22, 2013

Your health plan should be providing coverage for the women’s preventive services with no cost-sharing, if your plan is not grandfathered.* The best way to find out for sure that you have coverage for the women’s preventive services without cost sharing and to get information on how these services will be covered is to call your insurance company.

Below is a phone script for you to use when talking to your insurance company. ( If you are not getting the answers you need, call the National Women’s Law Center PILL4US hotline at 1-866-PILL4US or email pill4us@nwlc.org. We are here to help you if you aren’t getting the women’s preventive health services without a co-pay, as required by the health care law.

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Webinars & Presentations | 2012 Reform Matters Conference Call Agendas

November 15, 2012

The Reform Matters conference calls are monthly conversations among women's health care and reproductive rights advocates to focus on health care reform policy at the state and federal levels, provide an on-going forum to learn from one another, and share experiences and questions that have come up in addressing various health care reform proposals. Calls take place the second Thursday of every month. This resource links to all of the Reform Matters agendas for the year 2012.

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