Practice Trends

Nonprofit employers that do not provide contraception for religious reasons will get an extra year to comply with new government regulations requiring that health plans offer copayment–free coverage for a range of women’s preventive services, including birth control, emergency contraception, and sterilization.

These organizations, which include hospitals and universities with religious affiliations, will now have until Aug. 1, 2013, to comply with the federal rules. The additional year is meant to give these organizations time to deal with any logistical hurdles involved in adding contraceptive coverage, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Jan. 20. Other health plans must begin complying with the regulations by August 2012.

(c)Tina Sbrigato/iStockphoto.com Under the Affordable Care Act, most new or renewed health plans must offer recommended preventive services including contraception, without copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, beginning Aug. 1.

The rule also allows certain religious organizations, such as churches, to opt out of the requirements.

The new deadline is part of a final rule announced by the HHS. The department had released an interim final rule last summer setting out the list of preventive services that most new or renewed health plans must cover without out-of-pocket costs for patients.

The additional year for compliance was added based on an HHS review of more than 200,000 comments on the interim rule, covering a full range of opinions.

"I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services," Ms. Sebelius said in a statement.

The rule will not impact existing conscience laws and regulations, according to the HHS.

Under the Affordable Care Act, most new or renewed health plans must offer recommended preventive services without copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, beginning Aug. 1. The list of recommended services includes well-woman visits, screening for gestational diabetes, DNA testing for the human papillomavirus in women aged 30 and older, counseling for sexually-transmitted infections, HIV screening and counseling, all contraception methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, breastfeeding support and supplies, and screening and counseling for domestic violence.

The list of women’s preventive services was developed for the HHS by an expert panel of the Institute of Medicine. The IOM released its recommendations for coverage last July.

01/20/12