Bonamici Urges HHS to Require Coverage for a 12-Month Supply of Women’s Birth Control

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14), along with 53 of their colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), urging it to use existing authority to require that insurance companies provide coverage for a 12-month supply of a woman’s birth control prescription at one time, without cost-sharing.

“Increasing access to birth control benefits our country socially and economically,” Congresswoman Bonamici (OR-01) said. “Birth control has helped give women the freedom to decide when they want to start a family, and providing a 12-month supply ensures that women can plan long-term rather than for a few months at a time. Women today are often busy with work and managing child care, which makes picking up a monthly prescription impractical. My home state of Oregon just passed similar legislation, and I join my colleagues in urging the Department of Health and Human Services to require insurance companies to provide coverage for 12 month birth control prescriptions.”

“The Affordable Care Act finally established that being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition and significantly increased access to preventive health care services like contraception, without copays,” Congresswoman Speier said. “But the fact is that many barriers to preventive care remain. I urge HHS Secretary Burwell to use existing authority to make this simple change that will benefit women, and their families, across the country.”

Currently, many health insurance companies limit their coverage, without cost-sharing, of birth control to a one- or three-month supply. This can lead to unwanted gaps in birth control use and an increased incidence of unintended pregnancies. Inadequate supplies of birth control are of particular concern for low- and middle-income women who may have unpredictable work hours, difficulty accessing transportation, or other barriers preventing them from getting to a pharmacy.

According to a study from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), for women who received a full year’s worth of pills at one time, the odds of pregnancy decreased by 30 percent compared to women who received either one or three months of pills at a time. Both Oregon and the District of Columbia have recently passed 12-month dispensing laws. New York has added a similar measure to its women’s health/contraceptive bill package, and California and Washington State are considering similar measures.

The letter is supported by the National Women’s Law Center, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.