Women are saving significant money on birth control under contraception coveragerequirements in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

A new study published in the journal “Health Affairs” estimatesthe savings at $1.4 billion annually:

• Out-of-pocket spending on birth-control pills fell from $245 to$117 in a six-month period, for an annual savings of $255 for eachof seven million users.

• Users of intrauterine devices each saved $248 annually.

Although PPACA generally requires contraception to be free tothe patient, that requirement does not apply to every form of birthcontrol. Other studies show that some insurance companies are notfollowing the requirement in every respect, which helps explain whyout-of-pocket spending has fallen but is notat zero.

The Obama administration in May told insurers that they have to coverat least one version of each of 18 federally approved birth controlmethods.

Read: Are insurers skirting PPACA’s birth control rules?

Sen. Patty Murray (D.-Wash.) introduced a bill to ensure thatinsurance companies still cover birth control at no cost to thepatient, even if it is being purchased over the counter.

“It’s great news that as a result of progress made in theAffordable Care Act, women across the country have more affordableaccess to critical health care like birth control," she said. "Thisis good for women, it’s good for our country and it’s progress weneed to continue to build on going forward.”

The contraception mandate has been controversial, drawinglawsuits from religious groups concerned that they are being forcedto violate their beliefs.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R.-Colo.) has led a group of SenateRepublicans in proposing a bill that encourages birth control to besold over the counter, as he promised in last year's Senatecampaign. His proposal has drawn criticism from Democrats, whohave warned that being able to buy birth control without aprescription is little help if it is too expensive.