BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that health insurance plans would be required to cover birth control as well as several other women’s preventative services without co-pay, according to media reports Tuesday.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, the Institute of Medicine is commissioned to review women’s health services and recommend the preventative services that would most benefit women. The IOM released its recommendations in July and the HHS has now approved them.
“These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
In addition to free contraception, insurers must now provide women with free coverage for screenings for conditions including gestational diabetes, testing for HPV, screening for HIV, breast feeding support and counseling on sexually transmitted diseases.
Supporters hail the decision as a step in not only keeping women healthy, arguing that contraception can be used not only to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but also to make pregnancies healthier by allowing women to space more time in between births.
(Agencies)
