Years of systemic non-compliance by insurance companies have unfairly forced them to pay out-of-pocket costs.
Letter body (PDF)
boston – today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Policy Co-Chair; I participated DWC Chair Lois Frankel (FL-22), Policy Co-Chair Kathy Manning (NC-6); and Caucus for Pro-Choice Birth Control and Family Planning Task Force Chair Judy Chu (CA-28), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tina・With Senator Smith (D-Minnesota), He led more than 150 House and Senate Democrats in urging health insurance companies to fully comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage requirements. Specifically, the members require insurance companies to provide coverage (at no cost) for any FDA-approved contraceptives that do not have a generic therapeutic equivalent. asked to be adopted. The letter points to years of systematic non-compliance by insurance plans, forcing women to pay out of pocket or face administrative red tape to access the contraceptive method that works best for them. It was issued in response to the forced
“We express concern that our members are not complying with the contraceptive coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act and urge them to consider immediate adoption of the treatment equivalency standards outlined by the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Treasury. I wrote this letter. January 22, 2024.” the lawmakers wrote This was stated in a letter to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and UnitedHealth Group, whose members include major health insurance companies across the United States.
Despite the ACA’s protections, members have found that multiple investigations, including the House Oversight Committee, have found that “plans deny coverage for certain products and do not require administrative controls such as prior authorization or step therapy (fail-fast protocols).” “It has become clear that they routinely violate the ACA, including by imposing hurdles.” Patients also need to bear the costs. ”
In response to these violations, the Biden administration recently issued additional guidance outlining standards that require no-cost coverage for all FDA-approved products for which there is no therapeutic equivalent (generic). To ensure women get the contraception they need, members called on insurance companies to immediately adopt this standard and comply with the law.
This letter is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL), Right to Decide, and Physicians for Reproductive Health.
“Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), comprehensive coverage of contraception is the law, not a proposal. Yet insurance companies are blatantly ignoring this important provision.” said Gretchen Borchert, deputy director for reproductive rights and health at the National Women’s Law Center. “We support reproductive health advocates in the House and Senate in calling for immediate action. The time has come to ensure coverage. We urge them to adopt the therapeutic equivalence standards outlined by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury.”
“New guidance from the Biden-Harris administration is urgently needed. We remain vigilant in promoting plan compliance with the ACA contraceptive coverage requirements and holding violators accountable.” Thank you to our advocates in Congress for continuing to do so.” “We are thrilled to be partnering with Power to Decide,” said Power to Decide CEO Regan Macdonald Mosley, MD, MPH. “As a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, I know how frustrating it is for my patients when their health insurance doesn’t cover the contraceptives they need. Find the contraceptive method that’s right for you. It takes time, and insurance denial of the method is a major barrier that often prevents people from getting the contraception they need.”
A copy of the letter can be viewed here.
Rep. Pressley, along with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Rep. Ami Bera (CA-06), will support the Affordable Access Act. , meaning that if the FDA determines that over-the-counter contraceptive options are safe, insurance companies will fully cover over-the-counter contraceptives without any fees or copays.
During her time in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley fought tenaciously to protect fundamental reproductive and sexual health rights.
- Congressman Pressley will pursue comprehensive, cross-cutting legislation to address access to abortion care and develop a comprehensive vision of a just America where abortion care is readily available, free of stigma, shame, and institutional barriers. She is the lead co-sponsor of the Abortion Justice Act. For everyone who wants it, regardless of zip code, immigration status, income, or background.
- Congressman Pressley is the lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), a bicameral federal law that guarantees equal access to abortion care everywhere.
- Congressman Pressley is also the lead co-sponsor of the EACH Act, a bold bill to repeal the Hyde Amendment and guarantee abortion coverage regardless of how patients obtain health insurance.
- Shortly before the Supreme Court reversed the decision, Roe vs. WadeCongresswoman Pressley led a group of her Black women colleagues in writing to President Biden to declare a public health emergency amid unprecedented threats to abortion rights across the country.
- Congressman Pressley condemns the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, implores the Senate to protect abortion rights, and calls out the white supremacist roots of the anti-abortion movement. denounced.
- In August 2023, Congressman Pressley issued a statement regarding the Fifth Circuit’s decision. Hippocratic Medical Alliance vs. FDA.
- In July 2023, Congressman Pressley, along with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), will join the Reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, a law. People with disabilities who face discrimination and additional barriers when seeking care will have better access to reproductive health care and the informed care they need to take control of their reproductive lives. .
- In July 2023, Congressman Pressley praised the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter contraceptives.
- In May 2023, Congressman Pressley praised the FDA advisory committee for unanimously recommending approval of the first-ever over-the-counter contraceptive application in a 17-0 vote. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference praising the decision and calling on the FDA to approve over-the-counter contraceptives without delay.
- In May 2023, Congressman Pressley will be joined by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York, District 14), Dr. Ami Vera (California, District 06), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Catherine – Along with Sen. Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), the company’s bicameral Affordable Access Act would require insurers to pay fees and pay if the FDA determines that over-the-counter contraceptive options are safe. We guarantee full coverage of over-the-counter contraceptives with no out-of-pocket cost.
- In April 2023, Congressman Pressley issued a statement condemning the Texas court’s ruling on mifepristone and discussed the Texas case in a recent floor speech, stating that medication abortion is a routine medical procedure. and asserted that access to mifepristone is essential. She then joined Governor Maura Healey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and local leaders to announce her actions to protect mifepristone in Massachusetts.
- In March 2023, Congressman Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Representatives Schakowsky, Lee, DeGette, Torres, and Strickland, voted against the harmful and discriminatory Helms Amendment, “Abortion Reintroduced the “Medicare Everywhere Act” to expand access to abortion globally.
- In March 2023, Representative Pressley and Senator Hirono led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral resolution honoring abortion providers and clinic staff.
- In March 2023, Congressman Pressley gave a speech discussing a pending lawsuit in Texas aimed at restricting access to medication abortion across the United States. In his remarks, Congressman Pressley asserted that medication abortion is routine medical care and that access to the abortion drug mifepristone is essential.
- In September 2021, Congressman Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing examining the threat posed by abortion bans and emphasized the urgency for the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.
- As of April 2021, Rep. Pressley will join Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) in a group of 131 Democratic members of Congress. She led the group to reintroduce equal access to abortion insurance. It would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code, can make personal reproductive health care decisions without interference from politicians. be. She reintroduced the bill in January 2023.
- Congressman Pressley is leading the charge in Congress to force the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the abortion pills in January 2023. He praised the FDA’s actions.
- As chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’ Select Committee on Abortion Rights and Access, Congressman Pressley led the fight to remove the Hyde Amendment from the annual Labor, Health, Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. In July 2020, he announced the following in a Medium post: The importance of doing so. She praised President Biden’s removal of the Hyde Amendment from the fiscal year 2022 budget.
- In May 2020, she led more than 155 members of Congress to ensure that future COVID-19 relief packages reject Republican efforts to exploit the public health crisis to reduce access to abortion. He urged the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives to do so.
- In August 2021, Congressman Pressley, Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, and pro-choice caucus co-chairs Representatives Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee led more than 70 House Democrats to advocate for an unbiased, science-based proposed a resolution supporting the proposed policy. Manage access to medication abortion care.
- In January 2023, Congressman Pressley introduced a resolution condemning all forms of political violence in the United States, regardless of its target or intent. The same day, she gave a powerful speech on the floor of her House of Representatives, denouncing the Republican Party’s harmful and misleading anti-abortion resolution.
- In September 2022, Congressman Pressley welcomes U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester to discuss efforts to address the Black maternal and child health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care in states across the country. A meeting was held regarding Following the damaging ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health.
- In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House’s support for Roe v. Wade.
- In June 2019, Congressman Pressley introduced HR 3296, the Affordable Access Act, to make oral contraceptives available without a prescription.
- In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley sponsored a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and restore insurance coverage for abortion services.
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