H.R. 10597 — Affordability is Access Act of 2026

This section establishes the purpose of the Act to ensure timely access to affordable birth control by requiring coverage without cost-sharing for contraceptives approved, granted, or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for use without a prescription.

This section states congressional findings that birth control is critical health care used by most women of reproductive age, that the Affordable Care Act birth control benefit has enabled 62,100,000 women to decide if and when to become pregnant, and that 25 percent of current and prospective users cannot access their preferred method due to cost. It further finds that 21,400,000 women in need of publicly funded contraception live in counties with access gaps and that systemic barriers disproportionately affect people paid low wages, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and people with disabilities.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that oral birth control must be both easier to obtain and affordable to increase access, that women are denied coverage for newer products despite the 100 percent coverage requirement, that manufacturers should apply to the FDA for over-the-counter approval, that the FDA should approve qualifying products without delay, and that approved over-the-counter oral birth control should be covered by insurance without a prescription or cost-sharing.

This section directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury to clarify that coverage of contraceptives under section 2713(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act must include all FDA-approved over-the-counter contraceptives without a prescription and all FDA-approved prescription contraceptives, except that coverage of only one product is required among any group of therapeutically equivalent prescription drugs or drug-led combination products.

This section establishes rules of construction providing that the Act does not modify or interfere with Food and Drug Administration processes to review, approve, or determine the safety and efficacy of non-prescription drugs or devices, nor does it alter the FDA's scientific, medical, or other authorities. It also provides that the Act does not preempt any federal or state law offering greater consumer protections.

This section prohibits retailers stocking over-the-counter contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration from interfering with an individual's access to or purchase of such contraception or with access to medically accurate information about it. Retailers may still refuse sales to individuals unable to pay.