The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday that it is withdrawing a proposal aimed at reducing employers’ ability to opt-out of covering birth control for their employees on non-religious moral grounds. The decision, published in the Federal Register, has reignited debates over the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate, with significant implications for both employers and employees.
The Biden administration had initially proposed tightening the rules around birth control coverage under the ACA, aiming to limit the scope of employers who could cite “non-religious moral objections” as a reason to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage. The new regulations would have expanded access to contraception by ensuring that employees working for non-religious employers with moral objections would still be able to access free birth control directly through their insurance.
However, in a quiet move that caught many by surprise, the administration chose to withdraw the proposed rules. In a statement, HHS explained that it was focusing “time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules” as the end of President Biden’s term approaches. The decision means that the Trump-era regulations, which allow any employer to opt out of the contraceptive mandate on moral or religious grounds, will remain in place for now.
Under the Trump administration’s 2018 rules, employers—including private companies, universities, and religious organizations—were granted broad exemptions from providing birth control coverage. The regulations allowed employers to opt out of the ACA mandate by claiming religious or moral objections, a policy that had already been contentious during the Obama administration when the contraceptive mandate was first introduced.
The Trump-era rules, which have remained largely intact throughout the Biden administration’s tenure, have allowed religious employers and others with conscientious objections to bypass the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirement. This has led to challenges in the courts, including several high-profile cases involving organizations such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, who successfully fought against the mandate, asserting that it violated their religious freedoms.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an organization that has long represented the Little Sisters of the Poor in their legal battles against the ACA’s contraceptive mandate, responded to the withdrawal with a series of posts to X (formerly Twitter). The organization celebrated the Biden administration’s decision, highlighting the legal victories achieved by the Little Sisters of the Poor in the courts.
The administration projected that its proposal could have provided contraceptive coverage to about 130,000 more people, helping to close the gap in access for those who were currently left without coverage due to their employer’s objections.
Well, a Christmas from President Biden. Thank you for coming to your senses
#MAGA Baby!!!!!
Leaving the proposal in process but, un-finalized, would have allowed the Trump Administration the opportunity to revise the proposal in a manner NOT in accordance with progressive ideals. This at least delays any intention thaat the trump Administration may have had to make such revisions , even though none had been expressed. This decision by “Biden” is not altruistic, but calculated.