U.S. Announces Additional $6 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid Oil Sanctions and Fuel Shortages 
Marco Rubio Steps Down as Acting U.S. Archivist Amid Federal Law Limits 
Trump Rejects Putin’s New START Extension Offer, Raising Fears of a New Nuclear Arms Race 
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 
Federal Judge Restores Funding for Gateway Rail Tunnel Project 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links 
Trump Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected New England Waters 
Pentagon Ends Military Education Programs With Harvard University 
China Warns US Arms Sales to Taiwan Could Disrupt Trump’s Planned Visit 
U.S. Lawmakers to Review Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein DOJ Files Starting Monday 
U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms 
TrumpRx.gov Highlights GLP-1 Drug Discounts but Offers Limited Savings for Most Americans 
Iran–U.S. Nuclear Talks in Oman Face Major Hurdles Amid Rising Regional Tensions 
New York Legalizes Medical Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients 
UAE Plans Temporary Housing Complex for Displaced Palestinians in Southern Gaza 
The Biden administration this week proposed a new provision to the Affordable Care Act that would expand coverage to access birth control. The provision would be for women whose employers have opted out of contraceptive use on their health insurance on religious grounds.
On Monday, the Biden administration proposed a new rule under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, providing free access to birth control. The ACA requires private insurance plans to cover the recommended preventive services, including contraception, without patient cost-sharing. Current regulations grant exemptions based on moral or religious grounds.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that should the new provision be implemented, women that are enrolled in plans under the ACA would get birth control coverage regardless of employer exemption.
“Today’s proposed rule works to ensure that the tens of millions of women across the country who have and will benefit from the ACA will be protected. It says to women across the country, we have your back,” said HHS secretary Xavier Becerra.
In the current regulations, women enrolled in plans that do not cover contraception on moral or religious grounds can only access contraceptive services through an accommodation that employers can refuse to offer.
In the new rule, a provider would offer contraception to an employee at no cost and receive reimbursements from the insurer, who would receive credit from the government.
The new rule would also remove the employer’s moral objections as grounds for exemption from coverage but will keep religious objections in place.
The Biden administration also announced on Monday that it would end emergency COVID-19 declarations on May 11, almost three years after the country imposed sweeping pandemic restrictions in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly extended the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency that was implemented by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. The emergency allowed millions of Americans to gain free access to tests, vaccines, and treatments.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that the declarations would be extended again until May 11 and then terminated. When the declaration expires, the costs for tests, vaccines, and treatments would be transferred to private insurance and government health plans.
