The following article was sourced from ifebp.org.

President Biden signed an executive order directing certain federal agencies—those with responsibility for health coverage—to consider issuing guidance, consistent with applicable law, to further improve Americans’ ability to access contraception, without out-of-pocket expenses, under the Affordable Care Act.

This includes:

• Ensuring 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;
• Streamlining the process for patients and healthcare providers to request coverage, without cost sharing, of medically necessary contraception; and
• Considering additional actions, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to promote increased access to affordable over-the-counter contraception, including emergency contraception.

Additional actions to support contraception access includes:

• Instructing the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management to consider actions that would shore up birth control access for veterans and federal employees, among other provisions; and
• Instructing the Secretary of Labor to identify best practices for making affordable, high-quality contraception available to health plan enrollees, participants, and beneficiaries to share with employers and organizations that sponsor private health coverage.

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