Birth Control Coverage in Health Reform

On August 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced adoption of a recommendation that health insurers be required to cover birth control as a preventive service, without co-pays or deductibles, for all women with reproductive capacity.  This important step will reduce barriers to access for insured women, decrease unplanned pregnancies, improve health, and reduce costs.

The recommendation came from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Women's Preventive Services Study Committee, whose report recommends that health insurers cover the "full range of Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity" without co-pays or deductibles for patients.  The IOM also recommended an annual preventive visit and screening and/or counseling for gestational diabetes; sexually transmitted diseases; HIV/AIDS; Human Papillomavirus (HPV); breastfeeding; and interpersonal/ domestic violence.

This widely-anticipated report was commissioned by HHS to help develop science-based guidelines for which women's preventive services will be covered by insurance under Health Reform. The IOM panel based its recommendations on scientific evidence of measures necessary for women's health and well-being.

Adoption of the recommendations in the report, Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps, is important because women so often pay a great deal out-of-pocket for birth control. Reducing barriers to obtaining and using contraception will be an important component of preventing unplanned pregnancy.

Currently, half of all U.S. pregnancies are unplanned. In Texas, over 7 in 10 pregnancies among single young adults are unplanned. This translates into many health and social costs, including nearly $1.3 billion in Medicaid costs each year for our state.