Over 30 lawmakers call for 'crack down' on payer birth control denials

Thirty-four U.S. senators issued a joint statement to the Biden administration Feb. 16  urging it to increase enforcement against payers who illegally deny birth control coverage.

Insurers must cover birth control for members who receive coverage through the ACA or provide alternative methods based on medical necessity. However, the lawmakers argue that despite these protections, women around the country are still being roadblocked by payers. 

"At the federal level, the Affordable Care Act guaranteed women access to birth control with no out-of-pocket costs," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to three federal agencies. "The evidence for the public health benefits of this requirement is clear. Yet since the ACA's passage, certain insurers have not complied with this provision."

The lawmakers request that HHS, the Treasury Department and the Labor Department issue "specific updated guidance" and increase enforcement on payers that refuse to comply with ACA protections. 

The letter requested the agencies create a plan and timeline to develop new guidance and enforcement by March 30. 

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