(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion says she supports efforts to ensure women have access to over-the-counter birth control, but she’s raising concerns about a Biden Administration proposal. It would require insurance companies to cover all over-the-counter contraception products, including the pill and condoms. “My biggest concerns with the president’s proposal are the overall costs to the health insurance markets and overall costs to consumers and taxpayers,” Hinson said during her weekly news conference, “but I think it’s really important that we continue to look at ways to get access to over-the-counter birth control for more women.”

Sarah Corkery, the Democrat who’s running against Hinson, said President Biden’s proposal is a “good first step” to expanding access to oral contraceptives. “Covering things that people have to pay for out of their pocket, to make it more accessible, is the right thing to do,” Corkery told Radio Iowa. “The issue I have is the ones that will be covered over the counter have the least amount of hormones in it because there’s no doctor involvement, so it’s still good, but the better is still the ones that you get by talking to a physician.”

Pills that have a combination of hormones are slightly more effective than the Opill, the only oral contraceptive the Food and Drug Administration has approved for sale at pharmacies without a prescription. Hinson said the approval process has been too slow. “My main goal is to make sure the FDA is approving these already approved pills for over-the-counter use and access at a pharmacy without a prescription as soon as possible,” Hinson told reporters.

Hinson has said women in rural areas need access to long-acting reversible contraception, too, and she’s sponsoring a bill to require the F-D-A to conduct a study on the topic. Corkery said a 2007 study funded by businessman Warren Buffett’s daughter found long term birth control devices are the most effective way to prevent unplanned pregnancies. “They gave IUDs to poor women and guess what? Abortions went down and unwanted pregnancies went down, so we know birth control is the answer,” Corkery said. “We just need to make sure people can afford it.”

Women without insurance are charged over a thousand dollars for the devices, some of which can prevent pregnancies for up to 10 years.