Your little piece of good news for the day
by digby
Insurers must cover a wide range of contraceptive methods at no cost to patients, the Obama administration said Monday in new guidance to health insurance companies.
The guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) makes clear that insurers are obligated under the Affordable Care Act to cover at least one of each of 18 federally approved birth-control methods.
“Today’s guidance seeks to eliminate any ambiguity,” HHS said. “Insurers must cover without cost-sharing at least one form of contraception in each of the methods (currently 18) that the FDA has identified for women in its current Birth Control Guide, including the ring, the patch and intrauterine devices.”
The announcement comes after a series of reports that indicated insurers had conflicting policies on covering contraceptives, despite ObamaCare’s requirement that contraception be offered at no cost.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health research group, reported last month that some insurers were not providing all 18 forms of contraception at no charge. Five of 20 insurance plans it reviewed charged women for a vaginal ring, and one plan did not cover the contraceptive at all.
This will have a direct effect on many women’s lives. Huge actually, since many of them can’t use certain types of contraception. Also too, these more expensive types are also more reliable.
Little things that make a big difference.
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