Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act amends title 38 medication copayment rules. VA may not charge a veteran more than VA's cost for covered medication, and it may not charge any amount for a contraceptive item that health insurance coverage is required to cover without cost sharing under Public Health Service Act section 2713(a)(4). The practical effect is to align VA contraception cost sharing with the no-cost preventive contraception standard that applies to many private health plans, removing out-of-pocket charges for covered contraceptive items furnished through VA.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans using contraception benefit because VA could not charge copayments for covered contraceptive items. Women veterans benefit from parity with private preventive-services contraception coverage. VA clinicians benefit if cost is less of a barrier to prescribing appropriate contraceptive care. Veterans health advocates benefit from a narrow statutory fix to VA reproductive-health cost sharing.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs must update pharmacy and benefits systems to suppress covered contraception copayments. VA pharmacies must distinguish contraceptive items covered by the no-cost preventive-services rule. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of copayments no longer collected from veterans. VA billing offices must adjust notices, claims, and collections for contraception items.
Key Provisions
- Limits VA medication charges to no more than VA's cost.
- Bars VA charges for contraceptive items covered without cost sharing under preventive-services rules.
- Aligns VA contraceptive cost sharing with private health plan preventive contraception standards.
- Targets out-of-pocket barriers for veterans seeking contraception through VA.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Bars VA from charging veterans for contraceptive items that private health plans must cover without cost sharing under Public Health Service Act preventive-services rules.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Contraception, VA Health Care
Primary Purpose
Bars VA from charging veterans for contraceptive items that private health plans must cover without cost sharing under Public Health Service Act preventive-services rules.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans using contraception
- Women veterans
- VA clinicians
- Veterans health advocates
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA pharmacies
- Federal taxpayers
- VA billing offices
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Ms. Brownley (for herself, Ms. McClellan, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Veterans using contraception, Women veterans
VA clinicians, VA pharmacies
Positive-direction: VA clinicians
Negative-direction: VA pharmacies
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology