TRAVERSE CITY -- The Grand Traverse County Health Department officials say new laws allowing free birth control will save lives.
Starting in about a year, new guidelines by the Department of Health and Human Services will require all new insurance plans to cover all FDA approved contraceptives, without a co-pay.
Health department officials say women's health is finally getting the attention it deserves and this should have happened a long time ago.
Sarah Schimek from the Grand Traverse County Health Department says, "Providing birth control to general public is huge... almost half of all pregnancies are unplanned and for Grand Traverse County there’s about 1200 pregnancies a year -- so you can assume 600 are unplanned. This will make a huge difference for the health of our women, their babies, and economically help out a lot of our residents.”
To check out what some lawmakers are saying about the new guidelines check out the full story in the video above.
