U.S. govt proposes expanding Obamacare coverage for birth control

A sign on an insurance store advertises Obamacare in San Ysidro, San Diego, California, U.S., October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The U.S. government on Monday proposed a new rule to expand coverage of the Obamacare health insurance plans for all women who need or want birth control.

Regulations in 2018 expanded exemptions for religious beliefs and moral convictions allowing private health plans and insurers to exclude coverage of contraceptive services.

The new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Departments of Labor and the Treasury would remove the moral exemption and retain the existing religious exemption.

The rules would ensure that “tens of millions of women across the country” who have access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act would get access to contraception, the HHS said.