What You Need to Know About the New Contraception Guidance:

It is crucial that insurance companies provide all the benefits that women deserve under the Affordable Care Act, at no cost or inconvenience. So this week, the Obama administration took steps to eliminate any ambiguity around the reforms the ACA calls for. Here is what the Administration’s guidance makes clear:

Most insurers must cover, without cost-sharing, at least one form of contraception in each of the 18 methods for women that the FDA has identified, including the ring, the patch, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and birth control pills.

Additionally, the Administration is making a few other things clear to protect important preventive services:

• Insurers must cover preventive screening, genetic counseling, and genetic testing for women who are more likely to have a certain type of gene that puts them at increased risk for breast cancer, if deemed appropriate by their providers.
• Issuers cannot limit preventive services based on an individual’s sex assigned at birth, gender identity, or recorded gender. This will help ensure that transgender people receive the care they need.
• If a plan covers dependent children, companies must provide recommended women’s preventive services for those dependent children.

See how the Affordable Care Act has changed the lives of women like Astrid, Cait, and Shannon and learn more about how the ACA is helping women and families.

And here’s a quick recap on how the ACA has been giving women greater control of their own health care since 2010:

• Providing tax credits for women who cannot afford quality health insurance
• Prohibiting insurance companies from charging a woman more because of her health status or gender
• Covering preventive services with no deductible or co-pay, such as cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and more