Report: Birth Control and Woman's Health Should Be Fully Covered Under New Health Care Law

[Obama 2012 1,714]

I agree, ladies should be covered. However, Ladies should pay higher premiums for it as well.

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http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/19/birth.control.iom/

(CNN) -- Contraceptives, sterilization and reproductive education should be covered by health insurance plans with no cost to patients under the health care reform law, a new report recommends.

The birth control methods, services and education should be available "so that women can better avoid unwanted pregnancies and space their pregnancies to promote optimal birth outcomes," according to a report from the Institute of Medicine, an independent, nonprofit organization that gives advice to decision makers and the public.

Annual HIV tests, breastfeeding support and a well-woman care visit should also be fully covered as preventive services, the report states.

Under most health insurance plans, birth control such as hormone pills and implantable devices are partially covered, but require patients to contribute financially. If the Institute of Medicine committee's recommendations are accepted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, women will no longer have to shell out co-pays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket fees for approved birth control or sterilization methods.

It's unclear whether HHS will implement the report's recommendations. That decision could come as early as August.

"We are reviewing the report closely and will release the Department's recommendations of what additional preventive services for women should be covered without cost sharing very soon," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

She called the IOM report "historic" and said its recommendations were "based on science and existing literature."

The IOM committee recommended that all U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, including the morning after pills, should be fully covered by insurance plans.

Contraceptives can help families plan pregnancies, the report states. A national survey found that an estimated 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were unintended in 2001.

And women who have unintended pregnancies are more likely to have little or no prenatal care, and engage in risky behaviors such as smoking, drinking or experience domestic violence.

Birth control can also help women space time between births. Short periods between pregnancies have been associated with increased risk of higher mortality for children under age 5, low birth weight, preterm births, stillbirths, miscarriages, and maternal death.

The direct medical cost of unintended pregnancy in the United States was estimated to be nearly $5 billion in 2002. The cost savings due to contraceptive use in that same year was estimated to be $19.3 billion, according to a study cited in the IOM's report.

Health care professional associations such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Public Health Association already recommend the use of family planning services as part of women's preventive care.

Dr. James Martin, Jr, president of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the organization "really believes unimpeded access to affordable contraceptives for all women is foundational."

Martin, who practices in Jackson, Mississippi, noted that a substantial number of the pregnancies were unplanned and that some low- or middle-income women didn't have access to contraception because of cost.

Health plans covering an annual preventative care visit is also important, because that's when contraceptive methods would be discussed with a doctor, he said.

Planned Parenthood welcomed the committee's recommendations.

"Millions of women, especially young women, struggle every day to afford prescription birth control," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

"Today's recommendation brings us a step closer to ensuring that all newly insured women under the health care reform law will have access to prescription birth control without out-of-pocket expenses."

But the topic of birth control and contraceptives remains highly sensitive because of personal or religious beliefs.

Jeanne Monahan, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, said the group's chief concerns were what kind of birth control the plans would be required to cover.

Emergency contraceptives such as Plan B and Ella are taken after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. Ella works primarily by stopping or delaying ovulation, according to the drug maker. Plan B uses a hormone found in birth control pills to prevent ovulation or interfere with fertilization.

Monahan likened the emergency contraception to an "abortion drug." The Family Research Council is a faith-based nonprofit.

"The overall question of mandating contraception, we believe that will inherently violate people's conscience rights," she said. "There are many people with conscience objections. They will be forced to pay insurance premiums which will ultimately cover these things that violate their conscience."

"The question is whether the government should mandate that every health plan will cover these drug costs. They shouldn't be forced to violate their consciences," Monahan said.

Although the recommendation on contraceptives is most likely to attract controversy, the IOM committee also suggested that the following programs be fully covered as preventive services:

-- Screening for gestational diabetes for pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks

-- DNA testing for high-risk HPV for women starting at 30 years of age; recurring every three years

-- Annual counseling on sexually transmitted infections for all sexually active women

-- HIV testing and counseling on an annual basis for sexually active women

-- Breastfeeding support and counseling, including costs of renting breastfeeding equipment

-- Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence

-- One preventive care visit a year for adult women

[Nina~ 431]

I agree, ladies should be covered. However, Ladies should pay higher premiums for it as well.

Yes, and men who have not had a vasectomy should pay a higher premium as well

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Yes, and men who have not had a vasectomy should pay a higher premium as well

Pregnancy is 99% a woman's responsibility.

My point being, women should pay the 'extra' for their health issues, and men should pay for their health issues.

This is why we really need an ala carte health insurance system, imo.

Edited July 20, 2011 by DJ Kyo

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Pregnancy is 99% a woman's responsibility.

My point being, women should pay the 'extra' for their health issues, and men should pay for their health issues.

This is why we really need an ala carte health insurance system, imo.

Yet women get paid less than men for doing equivalent jobs...

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Yet women get paid less than men for doing equivalent jobs...

Not really these days...

[tmma 467]

....... However, Ladies should pay higher premiums for it as well.

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why?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

why?

why should men pay for services and doctors that are for women? Why should women pay for services that are for men?

[^_^ 5,021]

why should men pay for services and doctors that are for women? Why should women pay for services that are for men?

the premium money i pay does not all get used on my care.

if you have a problem with that, you don't understand what insurance is.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

the premium money i pay does not all get used on my care.

if you have a problem with that, you don't understand what insurance is.

I understand what insurance is. However when the government is mandating that certain things be covered under said insurance, why should everyone have to pay for that? THAT is the problem. All I'm saying is, if these requirements to cover women for certain things aren't counter-balanced by something else, then women should pay a slightly higher premium due to the 'risk' factor involved.

Edited July 20, 2011 by DJ Kyo

[^_^ 5,021]

I understand what insurance is. However when the government is mandating that certain things be covered under said insurance, why should everyone have to pay for that? THAT is the problem.

government mandates certain procedures be covered by insurance because private insurance companies do not step up to the plate and do it themselves.

now, if you prefer a world where a woman can't get mammograms covered because to get supplemental insurance for it would cost her 50% of what she's already paying for her primary medical, then we fundamentally disagree. i'd rather every policyholder chip in a little for those mammograms so the women who need them can get them. that is fundamentally what insurance is - cost and risk sharing.

Edited July 20, 2011 by \

[tmma 467]

why should men pay for services and doctors that are for women? Why should women pay for services that are for men?

A mammogram is cheaper than a guy's standard colonoscopy they get when they reach 50. The pill is cheaper than Viagra. A cervical smear is cheaper than a prostate exam.

Men should pay more....partly because of the cost of treatment and partly because alot of men don't seek treatment when they are ill- thus making the illness more serious and more expensive when they do go to the doctors.

Edited July 20, 2011 by tmma

[tmma 467]

why should men pay for services and doctors that are for women? Why should women pay for services that are for men?

then don't buy insurance and pay as you go.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

government mandates certain procedures be covered by insurance because private insurance companies do not step up to the plate and do it themselves.

now, if you prefer a world where a woman can't get mammograms covered because to get supplemental insurance for it would cost her 50% of what she's already paying for her primary medical, then we fundamentally disagree. i'd rather every policyholder chip in a little for those mammograms so the women who need them can get them. that is fundamentally what insurance is - cost and risk sharing.

Why is government in the busines of dictating what Insurers can and cannot cover? Actually, since health insurance isn't traded across state lines, they really shouldn't have a say. That's not the point here really though either.

Insurance is a service. A service to assist in paying for another service.

Adding a mandate onto insurance and burdening everyone with that mandate isn't exactly fair either. Why should everyone's premiums go up because of a new mandated coverage? The risk is supposed to be on the insurer, not the insured. Insurance isn't there to make sure that every procedure is paid for. Insurance is there to help out WHEN NEEDED. The problem with the insurance laws/mandates today, is they've created a system to where people don't actually understand that there's a cost associated with health care other than a co-pay. Look at the new health care law that mandates everyone gets a free physical exam every year. Congress sells it as 'free,' but it's far from it. Imagine if the entire population were to get that 'free' health screen every year. You'd bankrupt the insurance industry or cause premiums to go even further through the roof even further.

We have become far too dependent on health insurance to pay for 'health care' that it's not even funny and we turn around and blame them for our costs being so high. It's ridiculous that health care and health insurance are looked at as one in the same, when they are far from it. People got mad at insurance companies for not covering certain procedures for whatever reason, instead of getting mad at the health care system itself for the costs.

My point is, insurance isn't insurance so much anymore as it's been turned into another social program. A costly one at that. One that the government feels it can treat like every other government program and turn it into a toilet bowl that they have no idea how to keep from clogging up. Their answer? Turn the US into a commie hell hole and dictate that people buy a private product? Will it help? Hell no it won't as it doesn't do a damn thing about actual costs. Do they care? Hell no they don't.

[^_^ 5,021]

You lost me at commie hell hole.

Take care, perhaps someone else will care to engage you.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The problem are the fcuking free-riders that consume billions of dollars worth of health care services and then expect others to pick up the bill. That costs me over $1,000.00 a year in additional premiums. I'm tired of supporting the fcuking freeloaders that sit there and whine about loss of freedom while not taking responsibility for themselves. That's why you need a mandate to carry health insurance as long as hospitals are mandated to provide life-saving services regardless of one's ability to pay. No mandate to carry insurance, no mandate on providers to save your fcuking life either.