Your Employer Can Now Force Your Insurance to Stop Covering Contraception [updated]
The Trump administration today issued an immediate effective rule that lifts the requirement for employer-provided insurance to cover birth control.
Update 12/10/2017: Federal regulations require your employer to notify you 60 days in advance of major changes to your health plan. Keep track of your mailbox. Also, when it’s time to sign up for next year’s plan, double check to see if your contraception is covered.
Previously, birth control was an integral part of prevention services that all insurers must provide. This makes sense from a public health perspective, and even from an insurer’s perspective: pregnancy is risky and expensive. When you help people access and pay for contraception, there will be fewer unwanted pregnancies (and fewer abortions!)
The rule is effective immediately, even if federal regulations require a comment period first ; there is a good chance that the subpoena postpones the rule. We have contacted sources to find out if your insurance company will have to drop your birth control benefits immediately after your employer requests it, or if it will take some time to drop your insurance coverage (perhaps not until next year). We will keep you informed.