White House rolls back rules on providing birth control

Obamacare provision had required most companies to provide free contraceptives

WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious or moral objections, issuing new rules Friday that take another step in rolling back the Obama health care law.

Employers with religious or moral qualms will also be able to cover some birth control methods, and not others. Experts said that could interfere with efforts to promote modern, long-acting implantable contraceptives, such as IUDs, which are more expensive.

The new policy was a long-anticipated revision to Affordable Care Act requirements that most companies cover birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost. That Obama-era requirement applies to all FDA-approved methods, including the morning-after pill, which some religious conservatives call an abortion drug, though scientists say it has no effect on women who are already pregnant.

As a result of the ACA, most women no longer pay for contraceptives. Several advocacy groups immediately announced plans to try to block the Trump administration rule. “We are preparing to see the government in court,” said Brigitte Amiri, a senior attorney for the ACLU.

Catholic bishops called the administration’s move a “return to common sense.”

Trump’s religious and moral exemption is expected to galvanize both his opponents and religious conservatives who back him, but it seems unlikely to have a major impact on America’s largely secular workplaces.

“I can’t imagine that many employers are going to be willing to certify that they have a moral objection to standard birth control methods,” said Dan Mendelson, president of the consulting firm Avalere Health.

That said, Mendelson said he worries the new rule will set a precedent for weakening ACA requirements that basic benefits be covered. “If you look at it as a public health issue, it is a step in the wrong direction, and it weakens the protections of the ACA,” he said.

Officials also said the administration is tightening oversight of how plans sold under the health law cover abortion. With limited exceptions, abortions can only be paid for through a separate premium collected from enrollees. Doctors’ groups that were instrumental in derailing Republican plans to repeal the health law expressed their dismay.

The new rules take effect right away.