Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

United States

Office of Personnel Management

Retirement and Insurance Service

Benefits Administration Letter

Number: 98-418 Date: November 6, 1998 

Subject: Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Expanded Coverage of

Contraceptives for 1999 

On October 21, 1998, President Clinton signed into law H.R. 4328, the Omnibus Consolidated

and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 (Public Law 105-277). This law

included a provision requiring, with the exception of five plans listed below, the coverage of

contraceptives by all FEHB plans. We have therefore required all plans to cover the full range of

contraceptive drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Because the

law was signed after the 1999 brochures were printed, we are asking you to bring this to the

attention of your employees as soon as possible during the current open season. A suggested

notice to employees follows:

SUGGESTED NOTICE

SUBJECT: Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Expanded Coverage

of Contraceptives for 1999

A new law requires FEHB plans to provide contraceptive coverage. For 1999, the Office

of Personnel Management will require all plans to cover the full range of contraceptive

drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A few plans will be

exempt from this requirement, and they are noted below. Because the law was signed on

October 21, 1998, after the FEHB brochures for 1999 were printed, the FEHB brochures

you will receive during the Open Season do not reflect these additional benefits. You

should use this notice when you read the brochures, so that you will have an accurate

understanding of the benefits offered by plans that you are considering.

Not all FEHB plans will be required to cover contraceptive services. The law specifically

exempts five plans from providing contraceptive services on the basis that they have

expressed religious beliefs against providing such coverage, and the law recognizes that

additional plans may adopt similar positions. The five plans specifically exempted by the

law are:

1. Providence Health Plan (previously called SelectCare); code SD, serving
Benefits Administration Letter 98-418 2.

Oregon and Washington;

2. Personal Cares HMO; code GE, serving Illinois;

3. Care Choices; code FA, serving Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota; and codes

BA and KZ, serving Michigan;

4. OSF Health Plans; code 9F, serving Illinois; and

5. Yellowstone Community Health Plan; code 2Y, serving Montana.

In addition, the law provides that plans may not discriminate against plan doctors or other

providers whose individual religious beliefs or moral convictions prevent them from

prescribing contraceptives. If you are enrolled in an HMO that covers contraceptive

services, but your plan physician refuses to prescribe them based on religious beliefs or

moral convictions, contact the plan for assistance. The plan will arrange for you to have

access to a provider who will prescribe contraceptives. If you are enrolled in a fee-forservice plan, you are free to select your own physician, but you may wish to consult your

plan’s provider directory for a preferred provider. In addition, you may contact the plan

itself for assistance.

Abby L. Block, Chief

Insurance Policy

and Information Division