Find the NCC on Facebook!

The National Chlamydia Coalition is now on Facebook. To follow the NCC, simply visit our page and click the "like" button. Don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues!

The California Chlamydia Action Coalition is recruiting a new Managed Care and Primary Care Liaison. Submit a CV/resume and a cover letter via the UCSF Careers website, req number 35494BR.

Part of the NCC's policy work has focused on protecting adolescents from confidentiality breaches that may occur when parents or guardians receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) statement from their health plan for sensitive services the adolescent has obtained. On May 2nd, several NCC members joined the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health in submitting to the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the IRS a letter expressing our adolescent confidentiality concerns in relation to regulations for health plans offering coverage in the individual and group markets. We are pleased that the recently released final rules no longer require diagnostic and treatment codes to be listed on an EOB if it is produced in response to a health plan's compliance with adverse benefit determination rules. 

New IOM Report on Clinical Preventive Services for Women Available  

The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) new report, Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps, reviews the current list of preventive services for women, examines additional screenings and services, and recommends those that should be considered for inclusion in DHHS regulations, which may be released by August. The IOM recommends the inclusion of eight additional services for women. These services include improved screening and counseling for cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; annual well-women visits; gestational diabetes screening for pregnant women; lactation counseling and equipment for breast-feeding mothers; and additional screening and counseling for domestic violence. The report also recommends that insurers cover "the full range" of FDA-approved contraceptive methods, as well as sterilization and reproductive counseling at no cost to the patients. 

Abstract submission for the 2012 National STD Prevention Conference is now open. Abstracts are due on October 14, 2011. The theme for the upcoming conference is "STD Prevention Innovation: Solutions in the Era of Health Care Reform." Save the date for the 2012 Conference: March 12-15, 2012, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit the STD Conference website for the call for abstracts, conference framing, the unveiling of the winner of the first annual Conference theme contest, and more!