Obamacare includes a rule that requires insurance companies to provide free or low-cost birth control to women. But according to a report released Wednesday by the National Women’s Law Center, many insurers are simply ignoring this provision.
In fact, some insurance companies are not only charging women out-of-pocket costs, they are limiting which types of birth control they will provide – excluding options like the the vaginal ring, the patch and an intrauterine device (IUD). These are clear violations of the ACA.
“Unfortunately, not every woman who should be getting coverage of her birth control without out-of-pocket costs has been able to access this important benefit,” states the report, which is based on an analysis of 100 plans in 15 states.
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The report also states that some women have even been encouraged by their insurance company to try other forms of birth control in order to avoid out-of-pocket costs.
The insurers approaches to coverage “not only fail to comply with the [Affordable Care Act], but recreate the cost barriers that existed prior to the ACA that contribute to increased risk of unintended pregnancy,” the group wrote.
The National Women’s Law Center, joined by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a top Democrat on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will announce its findings Wednesday at a press conference.
As The Hill reported:
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Murray already sent letters to eight health insurance companies in her home state on Tuesday, raising concerns about the lack of compliance on the rule after other reports made similar findings. The National Women’s Law Center is now urging the federal government to further clarify its rules on ObamaCare by issuing more guidance to insurance companies and to states.
The organization is also calling on state and federal agencies to more closely evaluate insurance companies’ plans and to better manage consumer complaints.
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