Zonta International is a global organization of individuals dedicated to building a better world for women and girls. The Zonta USA Advocacy Action Center is a tool for our members in the United States and other individuals who share our commitment to gender equality to take action to improve the lives of women and girls. With your help, we can make a difference..
While private insurance plans and Medicaid are already required to cover all forms of contraception without cost-sharing, significant gaps in coverage remain—particularly for women enrolled in Medicare. This legislation would close those gaps, ensuring women can access the contraceptive method that best meets their needs without copays or other out-of-pocket costs.
The bill would extend coverage to young and middle-aged women with long-term disabilities, a population often overlooked in reproductive health policy. Approximately one million women in the United States aged 20–49 qualify for Medicare due to long-term disability and currently face barriers to coverage for contraception, including oral contraceptives and intrauterine device (IUD) insertion. The legislation would also direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to identify any remaining gaps in contraceptive coverage.
This bipartisan bill has received strong support from leading reproductive health and disability rights organizations, including the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Women’s Law Center, National Partnership for Women & Families, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Council of Jewish Women, Families USA, Power to Decide, the Medicare Rights Center, and numerous other national advocacy and medical organizations.
“Women with disabilities shouldn’t face greater barriers to contraception than anyone else,” said Senator Murkowski. “While Medicaid and private insurance already guarantee no-cost access to birth control, Medicare still leaves too many women without the same coverage. This bill would fix that by ensuring Medicare covers contraception at no cost to patients, removing a long overdue barrier to access contraception.”
“There’s no reason that women with disabilities should have a harder time accessing birth control than anyone else,” said Senator Duckworth. “By requiring Medicare to cover birth control without any cost to patients, our bipartisan bill would make sure all beneficiaries have equal access to birth control. It’s long overdue.”
Please use our pre-drafted letters to urge your representative to co-sponsor and support the bill to amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide contraceptive items and services at no cost-sharing under the Medicare program (S. 3560). If they have already sponsored or co-sponsored the bill, you can send a message of thanks.