Reminder: List of preventive medications available at no copayment expands Jan. 1

Under the Women’s Preventive Services mandate of the Affordable Care Act, the Blues currently provide generic oral and injectable prescription contraceptives with no copayment requirement for our female members with commercial pharmacy coverage.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, preventive drug coverage with no member copayment will expand to include additional preventive medications as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force under the Affordable Care Act.

These include select over-the-counter female contraceptives and other mandated preventive medications. Prescriptions are required for both prescription and OTC products. For details, see the article in the November Record.

Some group health plans sponsored by certain religious employers are exempt from the requirement to cover contraceptive services. In addition, there are some nonprofit employer groups that were granted a delay on the implementation of this benefit until their first plan year on or after Aug. 1, 2013, based on their religious beliefs.

The information in this article is based on preliminary review of the national health care reform legislation and is not intended to impart legal advice. If you have any legal questions about this information, you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider. The federal government continues to issue guidance on how the provisions of national health reform should be interpreted and applied. The impact of these reforms on individual situations may vary. This overview is intended as an educational tool only and does not replace a more rigorous review of the law’s applicability to individual circumstances and attendant legal counsel and should not be relied upon as legal or compliance advice.