Public comments on a set of proposed rules by the HHS, IRS, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration that would expand the mandate for employers to cover contraceptives in their employees’ health insurance plans are due on Monday, April 3.
These rules are summarized as follows:
These proposed rules would amend regulations regarding coverage of certain preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires non-grandfathered group health plans and group or individual health insurance coverage to cover certain contraceptive services without cost sharing. Current regulations include exemptions and optional accommodations for entities and individuals with religious or moral objections to coverage of contraceptive services. These rules propose rescinding the moral exemption rule, meaning groups opposed to any contraceptive methods that are embryocidal, including Ella, based on non-religious reasons would be forced to cover these methods. These proposed rules also would establish a new individual contraceptive arrangement that individuals enrolled in plans or coverage sponsored, arranged, or provided by objecting entities may use to obtain contraceptive services at no cost directly from a provider or facility that furnishes contraceptive services.
We strongly urge members to submit a public comment on these proposed rules. The government is legally obligated to review every single comment and it is important for them to hear from you! Notably, the HHS’s definition of “contraceptives” is broad and includes drugs that may prevent the implantation of an early human embryo. It is also notable that it is arbitrary to rescind the moral exemption rule but not the religious exemption rule; if you or your organization have made use of this exemption, please be sure to make a note of that. An example of a non-religious group with moral objections to the HHS mandate would be the national pro-life organization March for Life, which previously sued the Obama administration on the matter and won in a lower court before the case was mooted by the Trump rule. Another notable point is that no reliable data has been produced on how many organizations these rules will impact; if yours is one such organization, please don’t hesitate to comment on this. You can click here to submit a comment.
