Dept. of Health and Human Services Seeks to Limit Access to Oral Contraception Benefits

According to recent reports, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will soon seek to limit access to oral contraception benefits.

“The proposed rule allowing employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control limits the application of oral contraceptives in preventive medicine, in particular, for ovarian cancer. Oral contraceptives have been shown to reduce a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer by as much as 50 percent when taken for five or more years.

As a medical research women’s health organization, Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance strongly believes that science should drive policymaking and that all women should have access to oral contraceptives. The proposed rule threatens to exacerbate existing access barriers and diminish use of a critical preventive treatment. On behalf of the ovarian cancer community, we urge the Administration to rethink issuing this rule.”

Audra Moran, President and CEO, OCRFA.