Dear John,

Here at NWLC, I work on access to birth control. Part of my job is making sure people get the contraceptive coverage that insurance companies are required to provide under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even though the ACA requires most private insurance plans to cover preventive health services like contraception without out-of-pocket costs, that’s not always happening. We have a hotline, called CoverHer, to help people when their insurance companies aren’t covering birth control the way they should. I hear stories daily at CoverHer [[link removed]] of insurance companies not complying with the law.
The stories I hear highlight consistent issues:
* Individuals seeking IUDs receive surprise bills for removal, reinsertion, or related services—like ultrasounds prescribed by their doctor—despite federal guidance that requires full coverage of services related to the use and maintenance of birth control.
* People confirm with their insurance plan that it covers their service fully, but later their plan will state that they must meet their deductible before services are covered 100%.
* Plans refusing to cover brand-name drugs like Lo Loestrin FE, claiming that the ACA does not require them to cover every pill on the market. Plans often ignore the requirement that they must cover without out-of-pocket costs the specific pill doctors prescribe due to medical necessity.

This is not how the law should work!

While it’s easy to identify when a plan is not complying with the law, it can be challenging for most people to resolve these coverage issues. One of the best ways to fix a coverage problem is to file an appeal with your plan, which can be a tiring and lengthy process. But I find that people who keep pushing back against their insurer’s coverage refusal do eventually succeed.
We at the Law Center will continue to push to make certain insurance companies comply with the law, but when that doesn’t happen, CoverHer is here for you. CoverHer has got you or anyone you know who needs contraceptive coverage help—well—covered. Check out our resources if you need help getting your preventive services covered. [[link removed]]

In solidarity,

Lauren Wallace
she/her/hers
Senior Counsel, Reproductive Rights and Health
National Women's Law Center
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