I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3296 
To require group health plans and group or individual health insurance 
coverage to provide coverage for over-the-counter contraceptives. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 14, 2019 
Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. 
BERA, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To require group health plans and group or individual health 
insurance coverage to provide coverage for over-the- 
counter contraceptives. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordability is Access 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to ensure timely access 
to affordable birth control by requiring coverage without 
cost-sharing for oral birth control for routine, daily use 
that is approved by, or otherwise legally marketed under 
regulation by, the Food and Drug Administration for use 
by women without a prescription. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The House of Representatives finds the following: 
(1) Birth control is critical health care that al-
most all women will use at some point in their life-
times. 
(2) Access to the full range of reproductive 
health care, including birth control coverage as guar-
anteed under Federal law, provides women with the 
opportunity to lead healthy lives and get the care 
they need to reach their goals. 
(3) Family planning has well-documented 
health benefits for women, newborns, families, and 
communities and can lower the risk of harm to ma-
ternal and infant health. 
(4) An estimated 66,000,000 women of repro-
ductive age (ages 15 through 44) live in the United 
States, of which nearly 70 percent are at risk of 
having an unintended pregnancy. Sixty percent of 
women of reproductive age are using a contraceptive 
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method and 10 percent of women at risk for unin-
tended pregnancy are not using contraception. The 
rates of non-use of contraception are highest among 
those between 15 and 19 years old. 
(5) The birth control benefit enacted under the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 
Law 111–148) has been a crucial step forward in 
advancing access to birth control and has helped en-
sure nearly 62,800,000 women have the power to de-
cide for themselves if and when to start a family. 
(6) Despite legal requirements for birth control 
coverage and access to services, gaps remain for mil-
lions of women. A national survey found that 1 in 
3 women have struggled to afford birth control at 
some point in their lives, and as a result, have used 
birth control inconsistently. Access to birth control is 
particularly difficult for women who live in contra-
ceptive deserts and lack reasonable access to a 
health center that offers the full range of contracep-
tive methods. 
(7) Health disparities persist among low-income 
women, women of color, and women who lack access 
to health coverage and health care providers. 
(8) There are numerous social and economic 
barriers that make it harder to access birth control, 
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including rising income and wealth inequality, gaps 
in insurance coverage and challenges accessing 
health providers. 
(9) Leading health experts support over-the- 
counter birth control pills. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 
(1) in order to increase women’s access to oral 
birth control, it must be both easier to obtain and 
affordable and, to make it either easier to obtain or 
more affordable, but not both, is to leave unaccept-
able barriers in place for women; 
(2) it is imperative that the entities that re-
search and develop oral birth control and whose 
medical and scientific experts have developed clinical 
and other evidence that oral birth control for rou-
tine, daily use is safe and effective for women when 
sold without a prescription, apply to the Food and 
Drug Administration for review and approval for 
sale of such birth control without a prescription; 
(3) upon the receipt of such an application, the 
Food and Drug Administration should determine 
whether the oral birth control meets the rigorous 
safety, efficacy, and quality standards for over-the- 
counter use under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos-
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metic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), and if the prod-
uct meets those standards, the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration should approve the application without 
delay; and 
(4) if and when the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration approves an oral birth control that is avail-
able over-the-counter, such birth control should be 
covered by health insurance, without a prescription 
and without cost-sharing. 
SEC. 5. CLARIFYING COVERAGE REQUIREMENTS. 
The Secretaries of Health and Human Services, 
Labor, and the Treasury shall clarify that coverage of con-
traceptives pursuant to section 2713(a)(4) of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–13(a)(4)) includes 
coverage of over-the-counter contraceptive methods ap-
proved by the Food and Drug Administration, even if the 
enrollee does not have a prescription for the contraceptive. 
SEC. 6. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) NON-INTERFERENCE
WITH
FDA REGULA-
TION.—Nothing in this Act (or the amendment made by 
this Act) shall be construed to modify or interfere with 
Food and Drug Administration processes to review or ap-
prove, or otherwise determine the safety and efficacy of, 
and make available, non-prescription drugs or devices, 
modify or interfere with the scientific and medical consid-
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erations of the Food and Drug Administration, or alter 
any other authority of the Food and Drug Administration. 
(b) NON-PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act (or the 
amendment made by this Act) preempts any provision of 
Federal or State law to the extent that such Federal or 
State law provides protections for consumers that are 
greater than the protections provided for in this Act. 
SEC. 7. DUTIES OF RETAILERS TO ENSURE ACCESS TO 
ORAL BIRTH CONTROL FOR USE WITHOUT A 
PRESCRIPTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any retailer that stocks oral birth 
control for routine, daily use that is approved by, or other-
wise legally marketed under regulation by, the Food and 
Drug Administration for use without a prescription may 
not interfere with an individual’s access to or purchase 
of such birth control or access to medically accurate, com-
prehensive information about such birth control. 
(b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro-
hibit a retailer that stocks oral birth control for routine, 
daily use from refusing to provide an individual with such 
oral birth control that is approved by, or otherwise legally 
marketed under regulation by, the Food and Drug Admin-
istration if the individual is unable to pay for the birth 
control, directly or through insurance coverage. 
Æ 
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