Sponsors (6)
The bill centralizes HHS leadership to improve access to accurate reproductive and sexual health information, coverage navigation, and oversight—trading modest federal costs and potential privacy, legal, and political controversies for improved consumer guidance and program accountability.
People seeking reproductive and sexual health care (including women, LGBTQ individuals, and low‑income people) will have a centralized HHS Ombuds office providing evidence‑based public information, referrals, and rapid identification/correction of misinformation, improving awareness, safety, and access to appropriate services.
Medicaid beneficiaries, uninsured people, and low‑income consumers will get clearer, centralized information about which health plans and federal programs cover reproductive services, helping them choose plans and access covered care.
People accessing sensitive reproductive services (especially women and LGBTQ individuals) may gain stronger consumer privacy protections through the Ombuds' coordination with the FTC and focus on limiting collection of protected health information.
Women and some state governments may face legal and political challenges because active public education about medication abortion outside traditional clinical settings could provoke controversy or state‑level restrictions.
Uninsured individuals and Medicaid beneficiaries could experience increased privacy and legal risks if the Ombuds' coordination and data analyses require sharing or aggregation of plan‑level or consumer data, despite limits on PHI collection.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will absorb costs to create and staff an independent Ombuds office, which could raise government spending or divert HHS resources from other priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an independent HHS Ombuds for reproductive and sexual health to educate the public, analyze access and coverage gaps, coordinate across agencies/insurers, combat misinformation, and report yearly.
Creates an independent Reproductive and Sexual Health Ombuds inside the Department of Health and Human Services who reports to the HHS Secretary and must have expertise in sexual and reproductive health with demonstrated commitment to serving people seeking abortion care and members of LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic minority, disabled, and low-income communities. The office will be staffed and resourced to: provide public education with evidence-based materials; analyze consumer access and insurance coverage gaps across federal programs and private plans; coordinate with federal agencies and state insurance regulators; collect and counter reproductive and sexual health misinformation; help consumers find providers (including Title X and abortion funds); advise on medication abortion outside formal settings; coordinate on consumer protection and data privacy; request HHS Inspector General reviews; and deliver an annual report to Congress.
Introduced November 4, 2025 by Nikema Williams · Last progress November 4, 2025