What’s New
Lawmakers have proposed a bipartisan bill last week that would change the rules regarding Medicare’s coverage of birth control.
The new bill, the Closing the Contraception Coverage Gap Act, was introduced by Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, and cosponsored by Senators Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, as a way to ensure prescription birth control would be covered for women under Medicare.
Newsweek has reached out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via online form for comment on Monday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Millions of Americans receive Medicare insurance coverage at a certain age or because they have a long-term disability.
While many qualify because they’ve reached the age of 65, more than 9 million Americans under retirement age have Medicare, and many of these, around 1 million, are premenopausal women.
What To Know
These women qualify for Medicare if they received Social Security disability insurance for two years. Those with end-stage renal disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also are eligible for benefits as well.
Under the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, private insurers and state Medicaid programs must cover prescription birth control, but Medicare has never had this rule.
What People Are Saying
Hassan, the lead author of the bill, said in a statement: “Every woman should be able to get the health care that’s right for her, and this bipartisan bill will help ensure that all women can access no-cost contraception under all insurance plans.”
Duckworth said the law would reverse the coverage gap that has long plagued women with disabilities.
“There’s no reason that women with disabilities should have a harder time accessing birth control than anyone else,” the senator said in a statement. “By requiring Medicare to cover birth control without any cost to patients, our bipartisan bill would make sure all beneficiaries have equal access to birth control.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the insurance coverage gap has existed for women with disabilities for years.
“While access to birth control is covered through private insurers and state Medicaid programs for most, for those with disabilities who qualify for Medicare, there are currently no coverage options. This bill would expand coverage to that group,” he told Newsweek.
What’s Next
If passed, the bill would also force the Government Accountability Office to examine where there may be other birth control coverage gaps.
Beene said this bill differs from many other proposed health care laws due to the amount of bipartisan support it’s acquired.
“The most fascinating part is the bipartisan support for this bill,” he said. “It shows a real shift in the ideology of some Republicans who see aspects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade as problematic for their reelection chances depending on what parts of the country they represent. This expansion of coverage is seen by both sides as a step in the right direction for assisting this group.”
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