Know Your Rights: Reproductive Health Care
Reproductive health care, including access to birth control and safe and legal abortion care, is an essential part of your health and well-being. While Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion remains legal in many states, and other reproductive health care services remain protected by law. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is committed to providing you with accurate and up-to-date information about access to and coverage of reproductive health care and resources. Our goal is to make sure you have appropriate information and support.
Your Reproductive Rights
Below you will find information on your right to access care and has it covered by your insurance or other health care coverage if you have it, where to go if you don’t have coverage, and how to get information if you don’t know.
Most health insurance plans – whether you get coverage through your employer, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, or elsewhere – cover family planning counseling, birth control, and other preventive services at no cost to you. Federal law allows for federally-funded plans (e.g. Medicaid) to cover abortion in certain circumstances, and some private health insurance plans to cover abortion care.
Your Right to Emergency Care
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)
requires that, for any individual showing up to a Medicare-participating hospital emergency room with an emergency medical condition, the hospital is required to offer the stabilizing medical care necessary to save your health or life, including abortion care.
End of
Translation
Emergency medical conditions involving pregnant patients may include, but are not limited to, ectopic pregnancy, complications of a pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features. To learn more click here.
Please note: pursuant to the preliminary injunction in Texas v. Becerra, No. 5:22-CV-185-H (N.D. Tex.), HHS may not enforce the following interpretations contained in the July 11, 2022, CMS guidance (and the corresponding letter sent the same day by HHS Secretary Becerra): (1) the Guidance and Letter’s interpretation that Texas abortion laws are preempted by EMTALA; and (2) the Guidance and Letter’s interpretation of EMTALA — both as to when an abortion is required and EMTALA’s effect on state laws governing abortion — within the State of Texas or against the members of the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA).
Your Right to Birth Control
Under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans are required to provide you with birth control and family planning counseling with no out-of-pocket costs. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Hormonal methods, like birth control pills and vaginal rings
- Implanted devices, like intrauterine devices (IUDs)
- Emergency contraception, like Plan B® and ella®
- Barrier methods, like diaphragms and sponges
- Patient education and counseling
- Sterilization procedures
- And any additional contraceptives approved, granted, or cleared by the FDA
To learn more about birth control coverage requirements for different types of health insurance plans, visit here. To learn more about contraceptive methods, visit here.
Your Right to Medication
Under guidance issued by HHS, roughly 60,000 U.S. retail pharmacies were reminded of the unique role they play in ensuring access to health care services under federal civil rights laws. The guidance makes clear that as recipients of federal financial assistance, pharmacies are prohibited under law from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in their programs and activities. This includes supplying medications; making determinations regarding the suitability of a prescribed medication for a patient; and advising patients about medications and how to take them.
Your Right to Access Abortion
Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, access to abortion will depend on the state you live in even more than before.
- Medication abortion has been approved by the FDA since 2000 as a safe and effective option. Medication abortion currently is available by telehealth, including dispensing by mail via pharmacies and certified prescribers, in addition to in-person dispensing in clinics, medical offices, and hospitals.
- If you are covered through Medicaid:
- Under federal law, federal Medicaid funds cover abortion only in the circumstances of rape, incest or if the patient’s life is in danger. However, there are over a dozen states that provide more comprehensive coverage for abortion using state Medicaid funds. To find out more on state funding of abortions under Medicaid visit this website.
- If you are covered through private health insurance (plans through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace or through your employer):
- Coverage will vary by state, employer, and insurance company. In some states, private health insurance plans (e.g., plans through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace or through your employer) are required or allowed to cover abortion either in all or certain circumstances. Review your plan benefits document to find out whether your plan covers abortion. If you are using a plan where you are not the primary policy holder (e.g. if you are on a parent’s or spouse’s plan), be mindful that the policy holder may receive documentation from the plan, known as an “Explanation of Benefits,” that includes information about your care.
- If you need help paying for an abortion, abortion funds may be able to provide financial assistance. Information about abortion funds and resources to help are available at AbortionFinder.org
- If you need information on your state’s laws or legal help, you may consider this website: AbortionFinder.org
Your Right to Access Other Preventive Health Services
Under law, most health insurance plans must cover certain other preventive health services with no out-of-pocket costs under the Affordable Care Act. Most health insurance plans are required to cover women’s preventive health services, including:
- Well-woman visits to screen your health at any time, including a pap smear, breast exam and regular checkup
- Counseling and screening services
- Breast and cervical cancer screenings
- Prenatal care, which is care you would receive while pregnant
- Breastfeeding services and supplies
- Interpersonal violence screening and counseling (e.g., sexual assault evidence collection exams)
- HIV screening and STI counseling
If You Do Not Have Health Insurance Coverage
- Go to healthcare.gov and see if you qualify for coverage.
- Title X Family Planning Clinics provide a broad range of family planning services and provide preventive health services that benefit reproductive health, such as STI and HIV testing, HIV counseling, and HPV vaccines. Find a Title X Family Planning Clinic near you.
- Health centers are community-based organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services, regardless of patients’ ability to pay, and charge for services on a sliding fee scale. Find a health center near you.
- The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program helps low-income people with HIV receive medical care, medications, and essential support services to help them stay in care. Find how to get HIV care and services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program near you.
HHS Complaints
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in health programs receiving federal financial assistance. If you believe that your or another person’s civil rights or health information privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with HHS here.
Patient Privacy
Understand your rights to protect your private medical information under federal law. If you think your privacy has been violated, please visit: How to File a HIPAA Complaint to file a complaint.
The guidance on Protecting the Privacy and Security of Your Health Information When Using Your Personal Cell Phone or Tablet may be found here.
The guidance on the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Disclosures of Information Relating to Reproductive Health Care may be found here.
The guidance on the Use of Online Tracking Technologies by HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates may be found here.
Department of Justice Resources
The U.S. Department of Justice is also working to protect access to reproductive health services under federal law. Visit the Justice Department's Reproductive Rights Task Force website for more information.