The Trump administration recently rolled back the birth control mandate created under the Affordable Care Act that required businesses to provide contraceptive medication as part of their insurance packages. Any employer can now cite religious or moral objections to deny birth control to their female employees.
“The package of benefits should be determined by doctors, not employers,” said medical ethicist Art Caplan during an interview Thursday with Boston Public Radio.
“There is no doubt that at this point in time birth control is a core health benefit for women, and I might add for men, too,” he said.
Caplan warned that this rollback could lead to employers using moral or religious reasons for refusing to cover basic needs like vaccinations or blood transfusions, and could even provide a basis to allow employers to suggest their employees use alternative medicine.
“There are certainly bosses who are going to find all kind of things we might cover in health care objectionable,” Caplan said.
Click on the audio player above to listen to medical ethicist Art Caplan's interview with Boston Public Radio in its entirety.
