For over a decade insurance companies have been covering the cost of erectile dysfunction drugs yet have not had to cover contraception. Never mind the blatant sexism inherent in such a policy; consider the sheer stupidity of that policy.
Insurance companies will cover the cost of a drug that could lead to conception but until 2013 haven’t had to cover the cost of preventing conception. What a colossal and inane disconnect.
Recent studies show that almost half of all pregnancies are unintended and some 40 percent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that preventing unwanted pregnancies will prevent abortions.
And it should not take an act of Congress (yet it did) to make sure that women’s reproductive health is as protected as men’s right to erectile assistance.
The new rules are based on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences and were made possible through the new federal health care law.
The new regulations require full coverage of birth control measures that are approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration including hormonal birth control, barrier methods, sterilization and—importantly—emergency contraceptives such as Plan B and Ella.
Naturally, there has been some religious and right wing opposition to providing women with services to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Preventing pregnancy is akin to ending a pregnancy for some believers—who would like to impose their personal religious belief system on all women (and men) in the country.
There is more to the new regulations than birth control. Screening for HIV, DNA testing for HPV (which can cause cervical cancer), pre- and post-natal care, testing for gestational diabetes and other preventative care must be covered by insurance companies beginning in January 2013.
Covering contraception as part of this improved health care coverage is an important step, one that recognizes that preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first step makes the most sense politically, fiscally and morally.
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