OCRFA’s Response to Trump Administration’s Birth Control Coverage Rollback

(Oct. 11, 2017) Last week, the Trump Administration issued a regulation to immediately allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control on the basis of their own moral or religious objections, undermining the landmark benefit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that guarantees coverage for contraception without co-pays or cost-sharing.

Audra Moran, President and CEO, OCRFA, issued the following statement in response:

“The recently issued rule allowing employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control is a threat to women’s health. Oral contraceptives play a vital role in preventive medicine, in particular, for ovarian cancer. Research has shown that oral contraceptives can reduce a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer by as much as 50 percent when taken for five or more years.

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRFA) believes that all women should be empowered to access every available tool to help understand and manage their risk for ovarian cancer, from taking oral contraceptives to genetic counseling and testing. A woman’s ability to be proactive and access the medical benefits of oral contraceptives should be her decision based on individual risk and medical counsel. We call on the Trump Administration to review the body of research demonstrating the value of oral contraceptives in preventive medicine, and reverse this policy. In the meantime, we urge employers nationwide to preserve this important benefit and continue providing coverage for oral contraceptives.”