One of the stated objectives of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was to ensure that more American women were able to have access to a range of birth control methods at little or no cost to themselves. That objective is being met, according to a study published in the journal Contraception.

The research was conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, which surveyed 4,634 women before PPACA's implementation, during its initial phases, and, most recently, in the spring of 2014.

"The findings of this study suggest that the federal contraceptive coverage guarantee has had a substantial impact in eliminating out-of-pocket costs among privately insured women using some methods of contraception — including oral contraceptives, the most popular reversible method in the United States," researchers said. "Between fall 2012 and spring 2014, the proportion of pill users paying zero dollars out of pocket increased from 15 percent to 67 percent, with similar trends for injectable, ring and IUD users. Further progress may still be expected as more private health plans become subject to the requirement."