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HHS Plan To Exempt Employers From Birth-Control Mandate Threatens IUD Sales

 
• By Sue Darcey

An HHS draft proposal to broaden the "religious and moral objections" exemption from an Affordable Care Act rule mandating that employers cover employees' contraceptive use in health care plans, threatens US sales of intrauterine devices (IUDs), which total more than $1bn annually.

Young doctor holding an IUD birth control copper coil device in hand, used for contraception
Copper-based IUD • Source: Shutterstock

Under a draft rule sent by US HHS to the Office of Management and Budget for review May 23, any employers could exempt themselves from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate by stating they have moral objections to offering birth control options in health plans. Without the mandated coverage, many employers could drop birth control devices from health-care plans, and employees who can't afford the $500 to $1,000 cost per IUD won't buy them, or will turn to less-effective, cheaper options, according to Planned Parenthood, leading to a drop in use of intrauterine devices.

Before the ACA's birth control provision took effect, more than 20% of American women had to pay out-of-pocket for their...

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