Free birth control is possible with Donald Trump — the promotional code, not the president-elect, that is.
Nurx, a startup behind home-delivery birth control prescriptions, is offering a $45 credit — good for up to three months of birth control — if customers use the promo code "DonaldTrump."
In a press release obtained by Mashable, Nurx said:
Donald Trump has not indicated whether he wants to keep the birth control mandate, and his cabinet appointments have indicated Trump plans to do away with it. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has signaled that the Trump administration might repeal the birth control mandate, which he views as "anti-Christian." Donald Trump also recently selected Congressman Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Price has said in the past that the contraception mandate is "trampling on religious freedom and religious liberty in this country."
As the Huffington Post reported, birth control is free through Nurx with insurance even after the promotion is finished. Without insurance, women can still receive birth control through Nurx for as little as $15 per month.
Trump often promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act while on the campaign trail. However, he's more recently said that he would rather amend the health care law than replace it entirely.
Without a concrete plan as to how or what to replace it with, many women have worried about the fate of the affordability of their birth control.
But as Margot Sanger-Katz wrote for the New York Times' Upshot, birth control coverage isn't likely to go away, and should any changes be made, it won't be immediate:
The most vulnerable regulation is the requirement that health insurers cover contraception for all women without a co-payment. That rule, which has small exceptions for certain religiously affiliated employers, means that contraceptive coverage is now a standard part of health insurance. The absence of a co-payment also means that women can get costlier methods of contraception — like the IUD — without paying a lot of money for the device or for doctors’ visits.That regulation could be changed without involving Congress. But it would take some time. Regulations can’t be rescinded willy-nilly, and the Trump administration would need to go through a formal notice and comment period before finalizing a new rule. Mr. Trump has given no clear indication that such a policy change is a priority for him. But even if it is, and the process starts right after his inauguration, it will take months and will not affect current health plans. That means that contraception without co-payments won’t go away for at least a year, maybe longer.
According to its website, Nurx is currently available only in California, New York, Washington and Washington, D.C., although it plans to broaden its availability in the next few months.
(H/T: Mashable)
