Lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would require military health care to provide female servicemembers with FDA-approved contraceptives without co-pays, according to The Washington Times.
The bill was introduced by New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen and has collected 15 co-sponsors already. It comes after birth control was thrust into media spotlight by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision regarding Hobby Lobby, which allowed owners of tightly held for-profit companies to deny covering Plan-B contraceptives and IUDs on religious grounds.
"Female service members deserve access to the same basic health care as the women they protect, and it's unacceptable that they don't," Shaheen said in a press release. "Giving women in the military access to basic preventative health care, including contraception and family planning services, will strengthen our military as a whole and make sure no woman in uniform ever has to worry about how she's going to pay for her contraception."
The bill would require TRICARE – a health care service used by over 10 million servicemembers, veterans and families – to cover the cost of FDA-approved birth control. The organization could not collect co-payments or require cost-sharing either.
Currently, women who are on the active duty list do not have to pay for contraception or prescription drugs and do not have to spend money on co-pays, according to Politico. However, women who are off the active duty list and women who are dependents have to pay for co-pays.
Additionally, the bill crafted by Shaheen would require the military to provide counseling and family planning to female servicemembers. According to Army Times, the rate of unplanned pregnancy in servicemembers can be 50 percent higher compared to civilian women.
Shaheen's bill has received endorsements from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the National Women's Law Center and NARAL Pro-Choice America, The Washington Times reported.