The ACA requires non-grandfathered health plans to cover preventive care services without cost-sharing.
- The list of services is determined by the recommendations of various agencies as outlined in the statute.
- Women’s preventive care services are specified by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).
In December 2021, HRSA approved a new guideline on obesity prevention for midlife women and updates to five existing preventive services guidelines:
- Well-Women Preventive Visits,
- Breastfeeding Services and Supplies,
- Counseling for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs),
- Screening for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection, and
- Contraception.
The revised list of services is lengthy but summarized here in table format
These guidelines are effective for plan years beginning in 2023.
Employers with religious or moral objections to the certain of the guidelines related to contraception will want to pay special attention to the footnotes in the table.