Local agencies are reacting to a new health care law. President Obama's plan includes a large expansion of coverage for women's prevenatitve care.
The administration says health insurance plans will have to cover birth control as preventive care -- and there can be no copays.
Also to be covered without copays are breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual "well woman" physical, and screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer and for diabetes during pregnancy. Plans will also have to cover counseling on domestic violence, as well as other services.
The requirements will take effect in January of 2013 in most cases. They're expected to eventually apply to most employer-based plans, and to coverage purchased individually. Some of the coverage will begin August 1, 2012. As of this date, insurance companies will be required to cover all FDA approved contraceptives without a co-pay. This includes the pill, IUD's and the so called "Morning After Pill".
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the decision after a near-unanimous recommendation last month from a panel of experts convened by the prestigious Institute of Medicine, which advises the government.
The cost of the new coverage will be spread among people with health insurance, resulting in slightly higher premiums. It could be offset somewhat with savings from diseases prevented or from pregnancies that are planned.
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