On July 13, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it approved the first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive to prevent pregnancy. This drug is expected to become available to consumers without a prescription from stores and online retailers in early 2024.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide first-dollar coverage of certain specified preventive services for women, including all FDA-approved contraceptives, as prescribed by a health care provider.
The ACA’s contraceptive coverage mandate does not cover over-the-counter oral contraceptives that are obtained without a prescription. It is possible that the Biden administration or Congress will take action to expand insurance coverage of over-the-counter oral contraceptives. In the meantime, employers should review the terms of their health coverage to determine the scope of their plan’s coverage of contraceptives.
Individuals can pay for over-the-counter medicines, including contraceptives, using their health savings accounts (HSAs). Health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) may be designed to reimburse all over-the-counter drugs. Thus, although the ACA does not require health plans to cover nonprescription oral contraceptives without cost sharing, consumers may be able to use their HSAs, health FSAs or HRAs to pay for this medication.
The IRS has released draft 2023 forms for reporting under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056. Draft instructions for these forms have not yet been released.
No major substantive changes were made to the draft forms for 2023 reporting. However, certain changes may be made once these forms are finalized or when draft or final instructions are released.
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