I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9865 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the 

Armed Forces and their families have access to the contraception they 

need in order to promote the health and readiness of all members 

of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 

Ms. ESCOBAR (for herself, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. 

MCCLELLAN, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. RYAN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 

VEASEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. HIMES, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. 

KUSTER, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. 

LANDSMAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

STEVENS, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. PETERS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 

LYNCH, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. 

PANETTA, Mr. EVANS, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. CROCKETT, 

Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. ROSS, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their families have access 

to the contraception they need in order to promote the 

health and readiness of all members of the Armed 

Forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Contracep3 tion for Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Women are serving in the Armed Forces at 

7 increasing rates, playing a critical role in the na8 tional security of the United States. Women com9 prise more than 18 percent of members of the 

10 Armed Forces, and as of fiscal year 2019, over 

11 390,000 women serve on active duty in the Armed 

12 Forces or in the reserve components. An estimated 

13 several thousand transgender men also serve on ac14 tive duty in the Armed Forces and in the reserve 

15 components, in addition to non-binary members and 

16 those who identify with a different gender. 

17 (2) Ninety-five percent of women serving in the 

18 Armed Forces are of reproductive age and as of 

19 2019, more than 700,000 female spouses and de20 pendents of members of the Armed Forces on active 

21 duty are of reproductive age. 

22 (3) The TRICARE program covered more than 

23 1,570,000 women of reproductive age in 2019, in24 cluding spouses and dependents of members of the 

25 Armed Forces on active duty. Additionally, thou26 sands of transgender dependents of members of the 


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1 Armed Forces are covered by the TRICARE pro2 gram. 

3 (4) Reproductive freedom, including the deci4 sion to use birth control, allows people to exercise 

5 autonomy and make decisions about their health 

6 care. Yet making meaningful decisions requires ac7 cess to the full spectrum of reproductive health care 

8 ranging from contraception to abortion to maternity 

9 care. Everyone should have access to the full range 

10 of this care, free from unnecessary barriers. 

11 (5) The right to access contraception is ground12 ed in the principle that contraception and the ability 

13 to determine if and when to have children are inex14 tricably tied to one’s well-being, equality, dignity, 

15 and ability to determine the course of one’s life. 

16 These protections have helped access to contracep17 tion become a driving force in improving the health 

18 and financial security of individuals and their fami19 lies. 

20 (6) The Supreme Court has repeatedly recog21 nized the constitutional right to contraception, in22 cluding in Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479 

23 (1965)), Eisenstadt v. Baird (405 U.S. 438 (1972)), 

24 and Carey v. Population Services International (431 

25 U.S. 678 (1977)). 


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1 (7) Access to contraception is critical to the 

2 health of every individual capable of becoming preg3 nant. This Act is intended to apply to all individuals 

4 with the capacity for pregnancy, including cisgender 

5 women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, 

6 those who identify with a different gender, and oth7 ers. 

8 (8) Studies have shown that when cost barriers 

9 to the full range of contraceptives are eliminated, 

10 patients are more likely to use the contraceptive that 

11 meets their needs, and therefore use contraception 

12 correctly and more consistently, reducing the risk of 

13 unintended pregnancy. Moreover, cost barriers to 

14 contraceptive care fall hardest on populations who 

15 already face systemic barriers to achieving reproduc16 tive access, such as military families of color, and 

17 families with lower incomes. 

18 (9) Following the Supreme Court’s decision in 

19 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 

20 States have moved to enact bans and restrictions on 

21 reproductive health care including abortion and con22 traception. The basic right to access reproductive 

23 health care, including contraception, must be avail24 able to all people, regardless of where they live or 

25 whether they serve. 


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1 (10) Under the TRICARE program, members 

2 of the Armed Forces on active duty have full cov3 erage of all prescription drugs, including contracep4 tion, without cost-sharing requirements, in line with 

5 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

6 (Public Law 111–148), which requires coverage of 

7 all Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, 

8 -granted, or -cleared contraceptives and related serv9 ices and education and counseling. However, mem10 bers not on active duty and dependents of members 

11 do not have similar coverage of all FDA-approved, 

12 -granted, or -cleared contraceptives without cost13 sharing when they obtain the contraceptive outside 

14 of a military medical treatment facility. 

15 (11) In order to fill gaps in coverage and access 

16 to preventive care critical for women’s health, the 

17 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

18 Law 111–148) requires all non-grandfathered indi19 vidual and group health plans to cover without cost20 sharing preventive services, including a set of evi21 dence-based preventive services for women supported 

22 by the Health Resources and Services Administra23 tion of the Department of Health and Human Serv24 ices. These women’s preventive services include the 

25 full range of U.S. Food and Drug Administration 


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1 (FDA)-approved, -granted, or -cleared contracep2 tives, effective family planning practices, and steri3 lization procedures. The Health Resources and Serv4 ices Administration has affirmed that contraceptive 

5 care includes contraceptive counseling, initiation of 

6 contraceptive use, and follow-up care (such as man7 agement, evaluation, and changes to and removal or 

8 discontinuation of the contraceptive). 

9 (12) In July 2022, the Department of Defense 

10 eliminated copayments for medical contraceptive 

11 services (i.e., intrauterine devices, birth control shot, 

12 birth control implant, and diaphragm measurement 

13 and fitting), and effective January 2023, certain 

14 TRICARE beneficiaries will no longer face cost15 sharing or copayments for tubal ligation (surgical 

16 sterilization) services when obtaining care through a 

17 civilian provider. However, congressional action is 

18 needed to completely eliminate copayments for pre19 scription contraceptives and ensure that service 

20 members and their loved ones have equitable access 

21 to all methods of contraception. 

22 (13) The Defense Advisory Committee on 

23 Women in the Services has recommended that all 

24 the Armed Forces, to the extent that they have not 

25 already, implement initiatives that inform members 


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1 of the Armed Forces of the importance of family 

2 planning, educate them on methods of contraception, 

3 and make various methods of contraception avail4 able, based on the finding that family planning can 

5 increase the overall readiness and quality of life of 

6 all members of the Armed Forces. 

7 (14) The military departments received more 

8 than 8,866 reports of sexual assaults during fiscal 

9 year 2021, an increase of over one thousand reports 

10 compared to 2019. Through regulations, the Depart11 ment of Defense already supports a policy of ensur12 ing that members of the Armed Forces who are sex13 ually assaulted have access to emergency contracep14 tion, and the initiation of contraception if desired 

15 and medically appropriate. 

16 SEC. 3. CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE PARITY UNDER THE 

17 TRICARE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) PHARMACY BENEFITS PROGRAM.—Section 

19 1074g(a)(6) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

22 (C), cost-sharing may not be imposed or collected with re23 spect to any eligible covered beneficiary for any prescrip24 tion contraceptive on the uniform formulary provided 

25 through a retail pharmacy described in paragraph 


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1 (2)(E)(ii) or through the national mail-order pharmacy 

2 program.’’. 

3 (b) TRICARE SELECT.—Section 1075 of such title 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision 

8 under this section, cost-sharing may not be imposed 

9 or collected with respect to any beneficiary under 

10 this section for a service described in subparagraph 

11 (B) that is provided by a network provider. 

12 ‘‘(B) A service described in this subparagraph 

13 is any Food and Drug Administration-approved, 

14 -granted, or cleared- contraceptive, any contraceptive 

15 care (including with respect to insertion, removal, 

16 and follow up), any sterilization procedure, or any 

17 patient education or counseling service provided in 

18 connection with any such contraceptive, care, or pro19 cedure.’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘calculated as’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘calculated (except as provided in sub22 section (c)(4)) as’’. 

23 (c) TRICARE PRIME.—Section 1075a of such title 

24 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON COST-SHARING FOR CERTAIN

2 SERVICES.—(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and 

3 (c), cost-sharing may not be imposed or collected with re4 spect to any beneficiary under this section for a service 

5 described in paragraph (2) that is provided under 

6 TRICARE Prime. 

7 ‘‘(2) A service described in this paragraph is any 

8 Food and Drug Administration-approved, -granted, or 

9 -cleared contraceptive, any contraceptive care (including 

10 with respect to insertion, removal, and follow up), any 

11 sterilization procedure, or any patient education or coun12 seling service provided in connection with any such contra13 ceptive, care, or procedure.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. PREGNANCY PREVENTION ASSISTANCE AT MILI15 TARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITIES FOR 

16 SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10, United 

18 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1074o 

19 the following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 1074p. Provision of pregnancy prevention assist21 ance at military medical treatment facili22 ties 

23 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Sec24 retary of Defense shall promptly furnish to sexual assault 


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1 survivors at each military medical treatment facility the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Comprehensive, medically and factually ac4 curate, and unbiased written and oral information 

5 about all emergency contraceptives approved by the 

6 Food and Drug Administration. 

7 ‘‘(2) Notification of the right of the sexual as8 sault survivor to confidentiality with respect to the 

9 information and care and services furnished under 

10 this section. 

11 ‘‘(3) Upon request by the sexual assault sur12 vivor, emergency contraception or, if applicable, a 

13 prescription for emergency contraception. 

14 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

15 information provided pursuant to subsection (a) is pro16 vided in language that— 

17 ‘‘(1) is clear and concise; 

18 ‘‘(2) is readily comprehensible; and 

19 ‘‘(3) meets such conditions (including condi20 tions regarding the provision of information in lan21 guages other than English) as the Secretary may 

22 prescribe in regulations to carry out this section. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘sexual assault survivor’ means 

2 any individual who presents at a military medical 

3 treatment facility and— 

4 ‘‘(A) states to personnel of the facility that 

5 the individual experienced a sexual assault; 

6 ‘‘(B) is accompanied by another person 

7 who states that the individual experienced a 

8 sexual assault; or 

9 ‘‘(C) whom the personnel of the facility 

10 reasonably believes to be a survivor of sexual 

11 assault. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sexual assault’ means the con13 duct described in section 1565b(c) of this title that 

14 may result in pregnancy.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

17 after the item relating to section 1074o the following new 

18 item: 

‘‘1074p. Provision of pregnancy prevention assistance at military medical treatment facilities.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. EDUCATION ON FAMILY PLANNING FOR MEMBERS 

20 OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

21 (a) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Defense shall establish a uniform standard 


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1 curriculum to be used in education programs on 

2 family planning for all members of the Armed 

3 Forces. 

4 (2) TIMING.—Education programs under para5 graph (1) shall be provided to members of the 

6 Armed Forces as follows: 

7 (A) During the first year of service of the 

8 member. 

9 (B) At such other times as each Secretary 

10 of a military department determines appro11 priate with respect to members of the Armed 

12 Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary. 

13 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

14 Congress that the education programs under para15 graph (1) should be evidence-informed and use the 

16 latest technology available to efficiently and effec17 tively deliver information to members of the Armed 

18 Forces. 

19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The uniform standard curriculum 

20 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

21 (1) Information for members of the Armed 

22 Forces on active duty to make informed decisions re23 garding family planning. 

24 (2) Information about the prevention of unin25 tended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9865.IH H9865

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1 tions, including human immunodeficiency virus 

2 (commonly known as ‘‘HIV’’). 

3 (3) Information on— 

4 (A) the importance of providing com5 prehensive family planning for members of the 

6 Armed Forces, including commanding officers; 

7 and 

8 (B) the positive impact family planning 

9 can have on the health and readiness of the 

10 Armed Forces. 

11 (4) Current, medically accurate information. 

12 (5) Clear, user-friendly information on— 

13 (A) all Food and Drug Administration-ap14 proved, -granted, or -cleared contraceptives; and 

15 (B) where members of the Armed Forces 

16 can access their chosen contraceptive. 

17 (6) Information on all applicable laws and poli18 cies so that members of the Armed Forces are in19 formed of their rights and obligations. 

20 (7) Information on patients’ rights to confiden21 tiality. 

22 (8) Information on the unique circumstances 

23 encountered by members of the Armed Forces and 


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1 the effects of such circumstances on the use of con2 traception. 

Æ 


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