President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday aimed at increasing access to contraception and family planning.
Biden senior adviser Jen Klein told reporters that the order will increase ways for women to access contraception and lower out-of-pocket costs.
Klein said the executive order directs federal departments to consider requiring private insurers to offer expanded contraception options under the Affordable Care Act such as by covering more than one product and streamlining the process for obtaining care.
The executive order comes just one day before the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned a 1973 precedent establishing a right to an abortion.
The Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) is a devastating blow to the constitutional right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy and marks the first time the U.S. Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental liberty right.
Executive order touches on eight actions
The order covers eight actions that need to be considered, all aimed at improving the availability and affordability of contraception. The order would also direct those departments to consider new ways to broaden access to affordable over-the-counter contraception.
It directs the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor to consider new guidance stating private plans must cover all forms of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The order directs HHS to consider policies to expand access to family planning through the Medicaid program including through disseminating best practices for state Medicaid and managed care programs.
It also calls for HHS to consider similar action through Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to increase access for women of reproductive age with disabilities.
The order also directs HHS to consider having federally supported health care facilities like family planning clinics and community health centers expand the availability of contraceptive options, such as through new guidance or other resources.
The actions the White House can take unilaterally are limited. And The Hill reports that while the president has pushed for Congress to codify Roe v. Wade, the GOP-controlled House and the tight margins in the Senate have made that a non-starter. Previous efforts to pass legislation that would codify and expand the right to an abortion failed.
