President Joe Biden’s administration proposed new rules Monday under the Affordable Care Act that would require insurers to offer over-the-counter birth control without a prescription at no cost to patients—but the rule is unlikely to be finalized before he leaves office, leaving open the possibility former President Donald Trump could reject it if he wins.
President Joe Biden gives a statement to the media, during which he and German Chancellor Olaf ... [+]
In addition to over-the-counter birth control without a prescription, the rules would also require private insurers to cover emergency contraception, condoms and spermicide at no cost, and would require insurers to disclose the new offerings to patients.
The Affordable Care Act already requires most private insurance plans to cover birth control without cost to the patient, but birth control without a prescription had not been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration when the Obama-era ACA became law in 2010.
The White House announced the proposal just two weeks before the election as Democrats continue to campaign on access to abortion and reproductive care, while blaming Republicans for Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
The proposal is subject to a 60-day comment period, and likely won’t be implemented before the end of the current administration.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is issuing this proposed rule at a time when reproductive rights are under attack, and Republican elected officials remain committed to repealing the Affordable Care Act,” the White House said in a fact sheet on the proposal.
Former President Donald Trump said in May on Truth Social he would “never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control,” walking back his previous comments to a Pittsburgh TV station that he was “looking at” possible restrictions. The Harris campaign has seized on the remark and has accused Trump of being a threat to birth control access in campaign ads. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Affordable Care Act, and if he replaces it—as he vowed to do in the September debate with Harris—it could threaten the existing and newly proposed birth control provisions.
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