The Affordable Care Act’s embattled requirement to cover contraceptives ought to include the smartphone app that’s FDA-cleared to prevent pregnancy, according to experts. But it’s anyone’s guess how that might work.
The company that makes the app, also called Natural Cycles, clearly thinks insurers might be willing. Its product costs $79 per year or $9.99 per month. Soon, someone will fill an open position at the company and begin liaising with U.S. insurers — including, potentially, Medicaid.
That person will be stepping onto fraught legislative terrain. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers should cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, and the person they are insuring should have no out-of-pocket costs. But that mandate has been repeatedly challenged in the courts and undermined by the executive branch.
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