Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BROWNLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 239, the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, my bill to ensure that veterans have access to contraception coverage without any copay.

I thank the chairman for working with me to advance this legislation.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, women using civilian health insurance may access basic contraceptive services, like the pill or an IUD, without any copay. Active Duty servicemembers can also receive contraceptive care without any copay.

However, women veterans who receive healthcare through the VA do not have access to the same benefit.

Clearly, we need to fix this inequity.

The benefits of contraception are widely recognized.

Choosing when, or if, to have a family is essential to women's health and to their economic security.

Today, there are two million women veterans living in the United States, and women compromise the fastest growing subpopulation within the military and veteran populations; yet many of their health needs go unaddressed in a VA system that has not evolved to equitably serve a rapidly changing population.

As chairwoman of the Women Veterans Task Force and chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health, I have worked to identify disparities in healthcare for women veterans and, where necessary, introduce, advocate for, and pass legislation that eliminates these gaps.

Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country. It is past time that we ensure that they get the equitable healthcare they have earned and deserve.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 239.

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