Guttmacher Institute puts data front and center in support of ACA’s contraceptive coverage

Improve Global Health FundWashington, D.C.
February 20, 2014

Guttmacher Institute

A Brief filed by the Guttmacher Institute and professor Sara Rosenbaum, argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should hold that owners of for-profit companies cannot deny their employees insurance coverage of contraceptive services and supplied in employer-sponsored health plans based on religious objections.

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, a provision exists, which guarantees that most private insurance plans cover the full range of prescription contraception without cost-sharing for patients. Some for-profit companies claim that they should be able to opt out on the grounds that such methods are “morally objectionable.”

The Guttmacher Rosenbaum brief presents extensive data from the Guttmacher Institute and other leading authorities, stating that methods of contraception are not interchangeable medically, or in terms of their appropriateness or ease of use for a given woman at a given point in her life; and cost is a substantial barrier to women’s ability to choose. The brief also asserts the finding that removing such barriers- as federal policy currently requires makes a significant improvement in access to contraceptive services.

Exempting companies from the federal policy would substantially burden employees and their families. Lack of coverage would interfere with a family’s own religious beliefs, moral beliefs and health needs. Research presented by the Guttmacher Institute is paramount in supreme court cases and in the fight for access to contraception.

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