U.S. says insurers must still cover birth control after Supreme Court
abortion ruling
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[July 29, 2022]
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - The Biden administration on
Thursday warned U.S. businesses and health insurance providers that
limiting coverage of contraceptives, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
that overturned the constitutional right to abortion, would violate
federal law.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance
clarifying that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as
Obamacare, requires insurance plans to provide free birth control and
family-planning counseling to insured individuals and their dependents.
HHS, joined by the U.S. Department of Labor, said it has seen an
increase in complaints from women who have been denied coverage for
different forms of birth control since the Supreme Court's June ruling.
"With abortion care under attack, it is critical that we ensure birth
control is accessible nationwide and that employers and insurers follow
the law and provide coverage for it with no additional cost," HHS
Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The Supreme Court last month overturned its landmark 1973 decision in
Roe v. Wade, which had established a legal right to obtain an abortion.
About half of U.S. states have banned or limited or are expected to ban
or curtail abortions as a result of the ruling, and some may also move
to restrict access to birth control.
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![](../images/072922PIX/health7.jpg)
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks to
attendees at a convention in New York City, U.S., April 7, 2022.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jul/29/images/ads/current/graue_21BLAZER_081621.png) HHS in the guidance issued on
Thursday said insurance providers must continue providing coverage
for contraceptives even in states that ban them.
The Supreme Court in 1965 said married couples have a constitutional
right to buy and use contraceptives, and extended that to unmarried
people in a 1972 decision.
But conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring
opinion last month that the court's reasoning in overturning Roe v.
Wade could also apply to birth control.
HHS on Thursday said that in 2020, 58 million U.S. women benefited
from Obamacare's contraception coverage mandate, saving billions of
dollars in out-of-pocket spending.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; editing by
Jonathan Oatis)
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