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kalikshama -> RE: Maddow takes a look at GOP war on women (3/14/2012 8:28:33 AM)
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quote:
So cough up your co-pay (which is what... a whopping $10 or $20 per month?!!) just like most do for their scrips.
Starting August 2012, no copays for preventative care...contraception is preventative care.
PPACA Standards For Coverage Of Preventive Care Extended To Contraceptives
On Monday, August 1, 2011, the Obama administration announced new guidelines that require health care plans to cover certain women’s preventive services, including birth control and voluntary sterilization. The action taken by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (the “HHS”) adopts recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine, which recently issued a report dealing with a review of women’s health needs. In that report, the Institute of Medicine concluded that contraceptive coverage was justified because nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended and a significant percentage of these pregnancies lead to abortions. Thus, it asserted that greater use of contraception would reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion. The new requirements apply to health coverage in years starting on or after August 1, 2012, and thus will take effect on January 1, 2013 for calendar year plans. Grandfathered plans are not subject to the preventive care standards and thus do not have to comply with these new standards.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) requires health care plans to cover certain preventive services on a first dollar basis without any cost-sharing requirements (e.g., co-payment, co-insurance and/or deductible requirements). In 2010, HHS (working in conjunction with other involved agencies) issued interim final regulations providing guidance on the services subject to this requirement. Four categories of preventive health care coverage were made subject to these requirements, including (i) evidence-based services that have in effect a rating of “A” or “B” in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (examples include high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings); (ii) routine immunizations for children, adolescents and adults that currently are recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (iii) evidence-based preventive care and screenings for infants, children and adolescents provided for under guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”); and (iv) evidence-based preventive care and screenings for women provided for under guidelines supported by the HRSA.
The HRSA women’s health guidelines, which were not issued when the interim final regulations were published, were issued on August 1, 2011. These new guidelines, which are not limited to contraceptives, are intended to address health care needs unique to women. The guidelines include the following services and screenings: (i) annual well-women visits to seek age and developmentally appropriate preventive services, including preconception and pre-natal care and other preventives services; (ii) all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and patient education and counseling;(iii) screening for gestational diabetes with pregnant women; (iv) human papillomavirus testing, beginning at age 30 (not more frequently than every 3 years); (v) annual counseling for sexually transmitted infections; (vi) annual counseling and screening for human immunodeficiency virus; (vii) breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling; and (viii) annual screening and counseling for domestic violence.
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