AI
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 4:01:08 AM
Women Should Get Free Birth Control, HHS-Backed Group Urges
Birth-control pills are among the contraceptives that could be offered at no cost to Americans.
Creative Commons photo by flickr.com/nateone
By: Jason Kane
July 19, 2011 at 6:30 PM EDT
All U.S. women should have access to free birth control as part of the 2010 health care reform law, the Institute of Medicine recommended Tuesday, along with eight other suggestions for preventive health services.
Commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services to identify "critical gaps" in the agency's list of preventive services, the highly influential IOM report recommends that all U.S.-approved birth control methods be covered by insurers. That includes the controversial "morning-after" or "Plan B" pill that is considered by some to be a form of abortion because the woman takes it in the hours after sexual intercourse. The reform law requires insurance plans to cover services on the HHS list, meaning the adoption of the recommendation would make the pill co-pay free for "all women of reproductive capacity."
Planned Parenthood immediately applauded the report. In a statement, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the announcement will make life easier for "millions of women, especially young women, struggle every day to afford prescription birth control."
"Today's recommendation brings us a step closer to ensuring that all newly insured women under the health care reform law will have access to prescription birth control without out-of-pocket expenses. This would be a tremendous stride forward for women's health in this country."
Conservative groups cried foul, noting that the government will foot the bill for a large portion of the health care reform law and adoption of the IOM recommendation to cover the "morning-after pill" would "essentially would mandate coverage for abortion."
Jeanne Monahan, the director of the council's Center for Human Dignity, said in a statement that:
"[I]f HHS includes these mandates, the conscience rights of millions of Americans will be violated. HHS should focus on items and services that prevent actual diseases, and not include controversial services just to placate the abortion industry."
The IOM committee identified diseases and conditions that are more common or more serious in women than in men -- or those that might require specific interventions for women. Women received special attention in the report because they require more preventive services than men and therefore pay more in out-of-pocket costs that should be covered under the reform law, the authors say.
"The eight services we identified are necessary to support women's optimal health and well-being Each recommendation stands on a foundation of evidence supporting its effectiveness," said Linda Rosenstock, the study's committee chair and dean of the University of California Los Angeles' School of Public Health. "If these are thought to be warranted (by HHS), we believe there should be a decrease in the barriers to what are proven to be evidence-based, effective procedures."
Here in detail are the eight IOM recommendations, with additional thoughts directly from the group for several of the more complex suggestions:
¦ Contraceptive methods and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies: "To reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, which accounted for almost half of pregnancies in the U.S. in 2001, the report urges that HHS consider adding the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods as well as patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity. Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy also increases the risk of babies being born pre-term or at a low birth weight, both of which raise their chances of health and developmental problems."
¦ Counseling on sexually transmitted infections
¦ Counseling and screening for HIV
¦ Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30: "Deaths from cervical cancer could be reduced by adding DNA testing for HPV, the virus that can cause this form of cancer, to the Pap smears that are part of the current guidelines for women's preventive services. Cervical cancer can be prevented through vaccination, screening, and treatment of precancerous lesions and HPV testing increases the chances of identifying women at risk."
¦ Yearly well-woman preventive care visits to obtain recommended services
¦ Screening for gestational diabetes: "The United States has the highest rates of gestational diabetes in the world; it complicates as many as 10 percent of U.S. pregnancies each year. HHS should consider screening for gestational diabetes in pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation and at the first prenatal visit for pregnant women identified to be at high risk for diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes face a 7.5-fold increased risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes after delivery and are more likely to have infants that require delivery by cesarean section and have health problems after birth."
¦ Screening and counseling to detect and prevent interpersonal and domestic violence
¦ Lactation counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding: "Although lactation counseling is already part of the HHS guidelines, the report recommends comprehensive support that includes coverage of breast pump rental fees as well as counseling by trained providers to help women initiate and continue breast-feeding. Evidence links breast-feeding to lower risk for breast and ovarian cancers; it also reduces children's risk for sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, gastrointestinal infections, respiratory diseases, leukemia, ear infections, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes."
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will make the final call on whether to adopt the recommendations - possibly as early as Aug. 1. Immediately after its release, Sebelius called the report "historic" and "based on science and existing literature." She said that "before today, guidelines regarding women's health and preventive care did not exist."
Copyright © 2011 MacNeil/Lehrer Productions
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/07/women-should-get-free-birth-control-hhs-backed-report-urges.html [with comments]
===
Health body backs free birth control for women
[img]The IOM noted that women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to put off or neglect prenatal care and to smoke, drink or experience depression.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)[/img]
Andrew Seaman
Reuters
July 19, 2011, 3:03 p.m.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. medical advisory group recommended providing women free birth control and other preventive health services under the nation's healthcare overhaul.
The Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by the Obama administration, recommended that all U.S.-approved birth control methods -- including the "morning after pill," taken shortly after intercourse to forestall pregnancy -- be added to the federal government's list of preventive health services.
"The evidence supporting contraception is quite straightforward. It works," said Dr. Alfred Berg, a member of IOM's Committee on Preventive Services for Women.
The IOM noted that women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to put off or neglect prenatal care and to smoke, drink or experience depression.
The recommendation to add birth control is a big gain for organizations like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Planned Parenthood, but is likely to stoke opposition from conservative and religious groups.
"I'm really taken and pleased with the concept of making contraceptive methods available to women in general," said Dr. James Martin Jr., ACOG's president. "It's just a shame that so many pregnancies in this country are unplanned and unwanted."
"Covering birth control without co-pays is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent unintended pregnancy and keep women and children healthy," said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a statement.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Department of Health and Human Services to exclude birth control as a service, and strongly opposes [below] IOM's recommendations.
"Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the bishops' conference.
IOM also recommended free screening for gestational diabetes, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) in women over 30, counseling for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, lactation counseling, screening for domestic violence and yearly wellness visits.
Health and Human Services has the final say over what services will be offered. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the IOM report "historic."
The IOM is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide health-policy advice.
Research suggests the public would be supportive of birth control being added to the list of services.
A Thomson Reuters/NPR survey in May found 76.6 percent of respondents believed private insurance plans, without government assistance, should cover some or all costs associated with birth control pills, such as Yasmin, the popular birth control pill from Bayer.
(Editing by Michele Gershberg, Steve Orlofsky and Tim Dobbyn)
Copyright © 2011, Reuters
http://www.latimes.com/health/sns-rt-us-womentre76i5kp-20110719,0,1745318.story [with comment]
===
Bishops' Pro-Life Chair Strongly Opposes Recommended Mandate for Birth Control, Sterilization in Private Health Plans
WASHINGTON, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, strongly opposed the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of surgical sterilization and all FDA-approved birth control in private health insurance plans nationwide.
The full text of the statement follows:
I strongly oppose the Institute of Medicine's recommendation today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of three particular practices in almost all private health plans: surgical sterilization; all FDA-approved birth control (including the IUD, "morning-after" pills, and the abortion-inducing drug Ella); and "education and counseling" promoting these among all "women of reproductive capacity."
Pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible. The IOM report claims it would have good reason to recommend mandatory coverage for surgical abortions as well, if such a mandate were not prevented by law. But most Americans surely see that abortion is not healthy or therapeutic for unborn children, and has physical and mental health risks for women which can be extremely serious. I can only conclude that there is an ideology at work in these recommendations that goes beyond any objective assessment of the health needs of women and children.
The single largest abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, is celebrating the IOM's report. If the HHS does likewise and implements its recommendations, these controversial practices will be mandated for all insurance plans – public and private – without co-pay from anyone receiving them. The considerable cost of these practices will be paid by all who participate in health coverage, employers and employees alike, including those who conscientiously object to Planned Parenthood's agenda.
Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many. This new threat to conscience makes it especially critical for Congress to pass the "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act" introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Dan Boren (HR 1179). I am writing to all members of Congress to urge their co-sponsorship.
The IOM missed an opportunity to promote better health care for women that is life-affirming and truly compassionate. I once again urge the Department of Health and Human Services to focus on the need of all Americans, including immigrants and the poor, for basic life-saving health coverage – not on mandating controversial elective practices in ways that undermine the good of women and children, the consciences of employers, employees and health plan providers, and the common good.
SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
Copyright © 2011 PR Newswire Association LLC
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bishops-pro-life-chair-strongly-opposes-recommended-mandate-for-birth-control-sterilization-in-private-health-plans-125846953.html
===
(linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=63909873 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64150285
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64565668 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=65073272 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64833236 and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64669276 and following
*
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=65250169 and preceding (and future following)
Birth-control pills are among the contraceptives that could be offered at no cost to Americans.
Creative Commons photo by flickr.com/nateone
By: Jason Kane
July 19, 2011 at 6:30 PM EDT
All U.S. women should have access to free birth control as part of the 2010 health care reform law, the Institute of Medicine recommended Tuesday, along with eight other suggestions for preventive health services.
Commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services to identify "critical gaps" in the agency's list of preventive services, the highly influential IOM report recommends that all U.S.-approved birth control methods be covered by insurers. That includes the controversial "morning-after" or "Plan B" pill that is considered by some to be a form of abortion because the woman takes it in the hours after sexual intercourse. The reform law requires insurance plans to cover services on the HHS list, meaning the adoption of the recommendation would make the pill co-pay free for "all women of reproductive capacity."
Planned Parenthood immediately applauded the report. In a statement, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the announcement will make life easier for "millions of women, especially young women, struggle every day to afford prescription birth control."
"Today's recommendation brings us a step closer to ensuring that all newly insured women under the health care reform law will have access to prescription birth control without out-of-pocket expenses. This would be a tremendous stride forward for women's health in this country."
Conservative groups cried foul, noting that the government will foot the bill for a large portion of the health care reform law and adoption of the IOM recommendation to cover the "morning-after pill" would "essentially would mandate coverage for abortion."
Jeanne Monahan, the director of the council's Center for Human Dignity, said in a statement that:
"[I]f HHS includes these mandates, the conscience rights of millions of Americans will be violated. HHS should focus on items and services that prevent actual diseases, and not include controversial services just to placate the abortion industry."
The IOM committee identified diseases and conditions that are more common or more serious in women than in men -- or those that might require specific interventions for women. Women received special attention in the report because they require more preventive services than men and therefore pay more in out-of-pocket costs that should be covered under the reform law, the authors say.
"The eight services we identified are necessary to support women's optimal health and well-being Each recommendation stands on a foundation of evidence supporting its effectiveness," said Linda Rosenstock, the study's committee chair and dean of the University of California Los Angeles' School of Public Health. "If these are thought to be warranted (by HHS), we believe there should be a decrease in the barriers to what are proven to be evidence-based, effective procedures."
Here in detail are the eight IOM recommendations, with additional thoughts directly from the group for several of the more complex suggestions:
¦ Contraceptive methods and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies: "To reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, which accounted for almost half of pregnancies in the U.S. in 2001, the report urges that HHS consider adding the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods as well as patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity. Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy also increases the risk of babies being born pre-term or at a low birth weight, both of which raise their chances of health and developmental problems."
¦ Counseling on sexually transmitted infections
¦ Counseling and screening for HIV
¦ Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30: "Deaths from cervical cancer could be reduced by adding DNA testing for HPV, the virus that can cause this form of cancer, to the Pap smears that are part of the current guidelines for women's preventive services. Cervical cancer can be prevented through vaccination, screening, and treatment of precancerous lesions and HPV testing increases the chances of identifying women at risk."
¦ Yearly well-woman preventive care visits to obtain recommended services
¦ Screening for gestational diabetes: "The United States has the highest rates of gestational diabetes in the world; it complicates as many as 10 percent of U.S. pregnancies each year. HHS should consider screening for gestational diabetes in pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation and at the first prenatal visit for pregnant women identified to be at high risk for diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes face a 7.5-fold increased risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes after delivery and are more likely to have infants that require delivery by cesarean section and have health problems after birth."
¦ Screening and counseling to detect and prevent interpersonal and domestic violence
¦ Lactation counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding: "Although lactation counseling is already part of the HHS guidelines, the report recommends comprehensive support that includes coverage of breast pump rental fees as well as counseling by trained providers to help women initiate and continue breast-feeding. Evidence links breast-feeding to lower risk for breast and ovarian cancers; it also reduces children's risk for sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, gastrointestinal infections, respiratory diseases, leukemia, ear infections, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes."
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will make the final call on whether to adopt the recommendations - possibly as early as Aug. 1. Immediately after its release, Sebelius called the report "historic" and "based on science and existing literature." She said that "before today, guidelines regarding women's health and preventive care did not exist."
Copyright © 2011 MacNeil/Lehrer Productions
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/07/women-should-get-free-birth-control-hhs-backed-report-urges.html [with comments]
===
Health body backs free birth control for women
[img]The IOM noted that women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to put off or neglect prenatal care and to smoke, drink or experience depression.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)[/img]
Andrew Seaman
Reuters
July 19, 2011, 3:03 p.m.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. medical advisory group recommended providing women free birth control and other preventive health services under the nation's healthcare overhaul.
The Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by the Obama administration, recommended that all U.S.-approved birth control methods -- including the "morning after pill," taken shortly after intercourse to forestall pregnancy -- be added to the federal government's list of preventive health services.
"The evidence supporting contraception is quite straightforward. It works," said Dr. Alfred Berg, a member of IOM's Committee on Preventive Services for Women.
The IOM noted that women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to put off or neglect prenatal care and to smoke, drink or experience depression.
The recommendation to add birth control is a big gain for organizations like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Planned Parenthood, but is likely to stoke opposition from conservative and religious groups.
"I'm really taken and pleased with the concept of making contraceptive methods available to women in general," said Dr. James Martin Jr., ACOG's president. "It's just a shame that so many pregnancies in this country are unplanned and unwanted."
"Covering birth control without co-pays is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent unintended pregnancy and keep women and children healthy," said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a statement.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Department of Health and Human Services to exclude birth control as a service, and strongly opposes [below] IOM's recommendations.
"Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the bishops' conference.
IOM also recommended free screening for gestational diabetes, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) in women over 30, counseling for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, lactation counseling, screening for domestic violence and yearly wellness visits.
Health and Human Services has the final say over what services will be offered. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the IOM report "historic."
The IOM is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide health-policy advice.
Research suggests the public would be supportive of birth control being added to the list of services.
A Thomson Reuters/NPR survey in May found 76.6 percent of respondents believed private insurance plans, without government assistance, should cover some or all costs associated with birth control pills, such as Yasmin, the popular birth control pill from Bayer.
(Editing by Michele Gershberg, Steve Orlofsky and Tim Dobbyn)
Copyright © 2011, Reuters
http://www.latimes.com/health/sns-rt-us-womentre76i5kp-20110719,0,1745318.story [with comment]
===
Bishops' Pro-Life Chair Strongly Opposes Recommended Mandate for Birth Control, Sterilization in Private Health Plans
WASHINGTON, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, strongly opposed the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of surgical sterilization and all FDA-approved birth control in private health insurance plans nationwide.
The full text of the statement follows:
I strongly oppose the Institute of Medicine's recommendation today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of three particular practices in almost all private health plans: surgical sterilization; all FDA-approved birth control (including the IUD, "morning-after" pills, and the abortion-inducing drug Ella); and "education and counseling" promoting these among all "women of reproductive capacity."
Pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible. The IOM report claims it would have good reason to recommend mandatory coverage for surgical abortions as well, if such a mandate were not prevented by law. But most Americans surely see that abortion is not healthy or therapeutic for unborn children, and has physical and mental health risks for women which can be extremely serious. I can only conclude that there is an ideology at work in these recommendations that goes beyond any objective assessment of the health needs of women and children.
The single largest abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, is celebrating the IOM's report. If the HHS does likewise and implements its recommendations, these controversial practices will be mandated for all insurance plans – public and private – without co-pay from anyone receiving them. The considerable cost of these practices will be paid by all who participate in health coverage, employers and employees alike, including those who conscientiously object to Planned Parenthood's agenda.
Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many. This new threat to conscience makes it especially critical for Congress to pass the "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act" introduced by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Dan Boren (HR 1179). I am writing to all members of Congress to urge their co-sponsorship.
The IOM missed an opportunity to promote better health care for women that is life-affirming and truly compassionate. I once again urge the Department of Health and Human Services to focus on the need of all Americans, including immigrants and the poor, for basic life-saving health coverage – not on mandating controversial elective practices in ways that undermine the good of women and children, the consciences of employers, employees and health plan providers, and the common good.
SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
Copyright © 2011 PR Newswire Association LLC
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bishops-pro-life-chair-strongly-opposes-recommended-mandate-for-birth-control-sterilization-in-private-health-plans-125846953.html
===
(linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=63909873 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64150285
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64565668 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=65073272 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64833236 and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64669276 and following
*
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=65250169 and preceding (and future following)
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
Trade Smarter with Thousands
Leverage decades of market experience shared openly.
