Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today urged his Senate colleagues to support a bill that returns the ability to make health decisions to women and their families, rather than allowing employers to impose their beliefs on employees by denying benefits. The Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act restores the contraceptive coverage requirement guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act and protects coverage of other health services.

“Employers have no business dictating what type of health coverage should be available to women, or anyone for that matter,” Bennet said. “Women should be empowered to make these decisions based on what they believe is best for them and their families. This is a commonsense bill that restores that liberty and ensures employees do not have to ask their bosses for permission in the future.”

The bill ensures that employers cannot interfere in their employees’ decisions about contraception and other health services. It restores the original legal guarantee that women have access to contraceptive coverage through their employment-based insurance plans by banning employers from refusing to cover any health coverage guaranteed to their employees and dependents under federal law. The bill keeps in place a provision exempting religious organizations. 

During his time in the Senate, Bennet has worked to protect women’s health care access. In the Senate’s 2012 debate of the surface transportation bill, Bennet spoke out against and helped defeat an amendment that would allow employers to deny health coverage to women based on moral or religious grounds. He has also pushed the Administration to close the gender gap on recommended preventive health services.