Groups Speak Out on Contraception Access

On November 8, in response to the release of the Trump administration’s final rules that will limit contraception access, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, and the American Psychiatric Association, collectively representing more than 423,000 of America’s frontline physicians, issued the following statement:

“Our organizations, which represent more than 423,000 physicians and medical students, stand together in opposition to the Administration’s final rules, “Religious Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)” and “Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act.” By undercutting women’s access to contraception, a key preventive service, at no out-of-pocket cost in private insurance plans, the final rules conflict with our firmly held belief that no woman should lose the coverage she has today.

“Efforts to decrease access to contraceptive services will have damaging effects on public health. The ability to prevent or plan the timing of a pregnancy directly contributes to women’s overall health and personal achievements. We know that when women have unintended pregnancies, they are more likely to delay prenatal care, resulting in a greater risk of complications during and following pregnancy for both the woman and her child. The final rules reject these facts and the corresponding recommendations of the medical community, jeopardizing many women’s ability to maintain a vital component of their health care.

“No-copay coverage of contraception has an undeniable positive effect on the health of women and families everywhere, as well as the economic health of the nation by saving money for taxpayers and state and federal governments. In 2010, unintended pregnancies cost approximately $21 billion in government expenditures. Likewise, before the ACA, women were spending between 30% and 44% of their total out-of-pocket health costs just on birth control. After the ACA, women saved approximately $1.4 billion on out-of-pocket costs for contraception in one year.

“These rules create a dangerous new standard for employers to deny their employees coverage based on their own moral objections. This interferes in the personal health care decisions of our patients, and inappropriately inserts a patient’s employer into the patient-physician relationship. In addition, these rules open the door to moral exemptions for other essential physician-recommended preventive services, such as immunizations. We urge the Administration to immediately withdraw these rules and instead focus on policies to expand access to evidence-based health care for all Americans.”

In a related matter, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors, at its meeting on November 11, approved a policy to support ensuring coverage of all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and products as well as voluntary sterilization procedures by private and public entities as part of a minimum benefits plan. OAFP delegates and alternate delegates will be introducing a resolution regarding this position for the consideration of the 2019 AAFP Congress of Delegates.