It is still very difficult for American women to access adequate contraception — but last week, President Biden issued an executive order It can make a difference in the end.
Biden issued The system is extensivewhich includes several directives to protect and expand access to contraceptive methods, Almost a year after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. As part of his mandate, the president has instructed federal agencies to address pervasive insurance industry practices that prevent women from accessing their preferred birth control methods. The order was issued After two months luck He published an investigation into these problems.
Private insurance companies regularly refuse to cover some contraceptives outright, despite being required to do so under the Affordable Care Act, luckFound an investigation april. As a result, many women are unable to afford the contraceptives they want (and their medical providers prescribe), while companies that develop and sell new types of contraceptives struggle to stay in business.
On Friday, Biden specifically ordered federal agencies to address these problems, by Taking into account the Issuing “new guidelines” to ensure that private insurance companies fully cover women’s contraceptives. The White House said such guidance could “simplify the process of getting the care women need and want.” (The White House advisers also acknowledged “some existing reports of (insurance companies) failing to comply” with the Affordable Care Act, Stat News I reported on Friday.)
These widespread insurance coverage problems have contributed to a worsening reproductive health crisis: Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, according to Guttmacher Institute. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned ru Fifth. valleyMillions of women who suffer unintended pregnancies no longer have access to abortions and appropriate reproductive health care.
Biden’s executive order did not discuss a specific deadline for federal agencies to take new action. But reproductive health advocates and industry executives alike celebrated the White House’s work, calling it a promising step in the right direction.
“I’m really hopeful,” says Mara Gandal Powers, director of birth control access and senior counsel for the National Women’s Legal Center. luck. “It definitely indicates that this is a really high priority for the president — and I think the agencies listen when things like this come up.”
Encouraged by the president’s order, executives at Agile Therapeutics, which makes a new type of contraceptive patch called Twirla, said. They’re hoping federal agencies will release new guidelines as soon as this summer, in what they call a best-case scenario — or, in a worst-case scenario, sometime next year.
Agile spent more than a decade, investing about $250 million, to gain regulatory approval for Twirla — at a time when many of the largest, best-funded drug companies had stopped investing in women’s health. But after the company launched its product in 2020, it discovered that insurance providers would routinely refuse doctors’ prescriptions for it. In 2022, insurance companies refused to cover 55% of prescriptions written by doctors for Twirla in full, according to Agile — which lost more than $25 million last year.
In the past few months, Agile has raised money and continued to increase sales, but it is still struggling with insurance companies covering its products. (The company reported a net loss of $5.4 million in the first quarter of 2023.) Now Altomari’s CEO is hoping the White House’s intervention will help him get back to his core business of selling birth control, without all the expensive insurance hassles.
“My company is fighting for its life now. I wanted to last year — but this could be really good,” says Altomari.