The proposed regulations, issued in 2023, would have added a new “individual contraceptive arrangement” and rescinded the 2018 regulations’ moral exemption and accommodation.
The IRS, DOL, and HHS have withdrawn proposed regulations that would have provided an additional method for individuals to obtain no-cost contraceptive services if their health plan or insurer did not provide such services due to a religious exemption.
Under final regulations issued in 2018, qualifying religious employers and other entities with sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions are exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate, which generally requires coverage of contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
Exempt entities may voluntarily engage in an accommodation process that allows plan participants to receive contraceptive services directly from a TPA or insurer without the employer’s involvement.
The proposed regulations, issued in 2023, would have added a new “individual contraceptive arrangement” through which individuals enrolled in plans or coverage sponsored or arranged by entities with religious objections could have accessed no-cost contraceptive services without the involvement of their employer, group health plan, plan sponsor, or insurer. The proposals also would have rescinded the 2018 regulations’ moral exemption and accommodation. The agencies’ withdrawal took effect December 23, 2024.
EBIA comment.
The withdrawal document explains that the agencies are withdrawing the proposed regulations “to focus their time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules” and that they “may propose new rules in the future, as appropriate.”
For more information, see EBIA’s Group Health Plan Mandates manual at Section XIV.E (“Contraceptive Coverage: Exemptions and Accommodations Based on Religious Beliefs and Moral Convictions”). See also EBIA’s Health Care Reform manual at Section XII.C (“Coverage of Preventive Health Services”) and EBIA’s Self-Insured Health Plans manual at Section XIII.C.1 (“Preventive Health Services”).
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