Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced that health insurance companies and health care organizations must provide coverage for contraceptive care. The announcement drew the ire of religious communities in the U.S. who claimed that the regulation infringed on their freedom to practice their beliefs. The outcry was not ignored by the administration and President Obama has announced changes will be made to the regulation for the sake of compromise. Despite this new development, however, religious organizations are still opposing the regulation as a whole. According to the new compromise,…
Read MoreTag: birth control
HHS rules that organizations with religious affiliations must provide coverage for contraceptives
The Obama administration recently introduced a new law that requires insurers to provide coverage for contraceptives. The plan has put many religious associations on edge as such coverage may run counter to their beliefs. This has led many of these associations to seek exemption from the rule. Such is the case with the University of Notre Dame, which petitioned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be discounted from the law. Late last week, the HHS ruled that all institutions with religious affiliations must adhere to the law.…
Read MoreNew insurance guidelines are providing women with new healthcare opportunities
Many women are already singing the praises of the changes in the coverage regulations for women under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act. Since the Act went into effect, the following additional coverages for preventive services have been added for women, without deductible, co-insurance, or co-payments: • All forms of patient, sterilization procedures, and contraceptive methods that have Food and Drug Administration approval. • An annual “well-woman” preventive care visit for women. • HPV virus screening every three years for women over the age of 30. • A gestational diabetes…
Read MoreWashington insurer facing fines after denying coverage for contraceptives for women
As the nation’s insurers begin to make the shift in covering birth control for women, some companies are falling behind. Washington’s Regence BlueShield, one of the state’s largest health insurance companies, is being fined by state insurance regulators for denying coverage to nearly 1,000 women. The company is now facing fines coming from the state’s Insurance Department. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler was first made aware of the issue early this week when a consumer contacted his office to file a complaint. Regence BlueShield now faces a $100,000 fine for what…
Read MoreAffordable Care Act offers women greater access to preventive services
Preventative health care has been a chronic challenge in the American healthcare system, but due to the fact that chronic diseases – which make up about 75 percent of the country’s health spending, and that they are the cause of 70 percent of deaths every year – are frequently preventable, this type of healthcare is now being pushed into the spotlight. Affordability has been one of the main problems holding back preventive services. Currently, most of these therapies, even those with insurance coverage, are subject to cost sharing, such as…
Read MoreDepartment of Health and Human Services approves full coverage of birth control
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a statement that included new guidelines regarding the required full coverage of a number of women’s preventative services – such as voluntary sterilization and birth control – by health insurance companies from August 1, 2012 onward. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from the HHS explained that the department’s decision was made as a part of the strategy from the Affordable Care Act to halt problems before they occur. In a press release, she said that the new coverage guidelines “are based…
Read More