Birth Control/Contraceptives

Women are unique. Our time spent as full time employees often coincides with our time spent as family caregivers. We are more times than not bombarded with societal double standards. But, we deal. We deal with these things every day, no matter how frustrating.

Not surprisingly, our health concerns and needs are unique. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we can be better prepared to deal with these as well.

Because of landmark legislation on the health care front, young women will now have the option to receive potentially life-saving screenings without a co-pay, making it easier for many women to access them. In fact, starting in January 2012, all new health insurance plans will be required to cover preventive care, such as STI screenings for young women at no additional cost. Read more »

All summer, we’ve been talking about getting contraception covered in all the new health insurance plans created under the Affordable Care Act. For a quick review: in July, a panel of non-partisan experts released their recommendations that included not only all FDA-approved methods of contraception, but also an incredible list of other needed preventive health services for women. A few short weeks later in August, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted these recommendations in full, paving the way for millions of women to soon have access to contraception WITHOUT A CO-PAY! Read more »

After reading news reports on the recent Kaiser Family Foundation polling, you might think that the most important finding is that public support for the law is at a plateau, and that a large number of everyday Americans are still unsure how the law will directly benefit them. But, I was pleased as punch to see that 66% of those polled support the recent decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to cover contraceptives without co-payments. Read more »

Over 60,000 of you signed our petition to support no-cost birth control, and earlier today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is adopting expert recommendations to require health insurers to cover contraception, along with a number of other preventive health services for women, without charging women co-payments. We got you covered – birth control without a co-pay will soon be a reality!

Thank HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for moving women’s health a huge step forward. Read more »

The Wall Street Journal has asked for comments on whether readers support the IOM’s recommendation that women be provided the full range of FDA-approved contraception without cost sharing. Read more »

*For horses. Not humans.

This week the House of Representatives has been debating H.R.1, the bill that would fund the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011. The proposed budget makes devastating cuts to programs upon which women and their families rely. Read more »

Does your employer-sponsored health insurance cover your birth control? Most of us couldn’t have said “yes” ten years ago.  Read more »