Birth Control Mandate Takes Effect
Jeanwah
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Obama’s Birth Control Mandate Takes Effect
Sahil Kapur August 1, 2012, 3:40 PM 2448
The Obama administration’s birth control mandate took effect Wednesday, granting an estimated 47 million women access to free contraception and a raft of preventive health services.
As of Aug. 1, new or renewing health insurance plans are required to provide birth control to women at no out-of-pocket cost. Houses of worship are exempt and religious nonprofits get a one-year reprieve, as well as the option to pass the cost to the insurance company.
The administration established the much-ballyhooed rule, authorized under the Affordable Care Act and drawing upon recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, on the grounds that improved access to preventive health services prevents illnesses and saves money.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule permits free annual well-woman visits for adult females “to obtain the recommended preventive services that are age and developmentally appropriate, including preconception and prenatal care.” Health plans must also provide free screenings for gestational diabetes, human papillomavirus testing and HIV, along with counseling for STDs, breastfeeding and domestic violence.
About 47 million women will have access to these services starting Aug. 1, according to HHS.
“Women deserve to have control over their health care,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Aug. 1, 2012, ushers in a new day for women’s health when, for the first time ever, women will have access to eight new services at no out-of-pocket cost to keep them healthier and to catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier, more treatable stage.”
Conservatives decry the birth control requirement a violation of religious freedom. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal the mandate along with the rest of ‘Obamacare’ if elected president.
Sahil Kapur August 1, 2012, 3:40 PM 2448
The Obama administration’s birth control mandate took effect Wednesday, granting an estimated 47 million women access to free contraception and a raft of preventive health services.
As of Aug. 1, new or renewing health insurance plans are required to provide birth control to women at no out-of-pocket cost. Houses of worship are exempt and religious nonprofits get a one-year reprieve, as well as the option to pass the cost to the insurance company.
The administration established the much-ballyhooed rule, authorized under the Affordable Care Act and drawing upon recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, on the grounds that improved access to preventive health services prevents illnesses and saves money.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule permits free annual well-woman visits for adult females “to obtain the recommended preventive services that are age and developmentally appropriate, including preconception and prenatal care.” Health plans must also provide free screenings for gestational diabetes, human papillomavirus testing and HIV, along with counseling for STDs, breastfeeding and domestic violence.
About 47 million women will have access to these services starting Aug. 1, according to HHS.
“Women deserve to have control over their health care,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Aug. 1, 2012, ushers in a new day for women’s health when, for the first time ever, women will have access to eight new services at no out-of-pocket cost to keep them healthier and to catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier, more treatable stage.”
Conservatives decry the birth control requirement a violation of religious freedom. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal the mandate along with the rest of ‘Obamacare’ if elected president.
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good. unfortunately it took a long protracted battle to get this thing passed, but this should help a lot of women have access to the health care that they otherwise would not have.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
YIKES..... nothing like a little dramatic hyperbole...
:fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:
Mike Kelly Compares Birth Control Mandate To Pearl Harbor, 9/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/0 ... 29242.html
Criticizing President Barack Obama's health care reform law on Wednesday, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) likened the requirement that private insurance plans provide contraception coverage to two of the most devastating attacks on American soil.
"I know in your mind, you can think of the times America was attacked," he said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "One is Dec. 7, that's Pearl Harbor Day. The other is Sept. 11, and that's the day the terrorists attacked. I want you to remember Aug. 1, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates."
Wednesday marked the first day private insurers must include birth control coverage in their plans without charging a co-pay, per requirements in the Affordable Care Act. The change will affect most women on private health plans, with some exceptions. More than a dozen Republican members of the House of Representatives, mostly freshmen, held a press conference to blast the law for what they said were violations of religious freedom.
"As this mandate goes into effect, Americans are going to be forced to act against the principles of their faith," said Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.). "This coercion by taxation that this president seems to like must stop and it must come to end now."
The conservative lawmakers' objections focus on the fact that employees and students with religiously affiliated groups will be able to have access to contraception coverage through their health care plans. A compromise offered by the Obama administration requires insurance companies to offer the coverage directly, so that the employers are removed from the transaction.
Still, the members threw one vitriolic jab after another at the mandate, calling it an attack on freedom and an assault on first amendment rights. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), a Roman Catholic, characterized the law as "thinly veiled religious bigotry."
"Today is the day religious freedom died in America," Kelly added. His colleague Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) expressed a similar sentiment, saying, "We're not the land of the free anymore, and we need to get that straight."
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) called the mandate "the largest assault we've seen on first amendment rights in the history of our country," and her colleague Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) called it "unprecedented government coercion in health care."
"This is not an issue of birth control, it's an issue of government control," Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) said.
"It's outrageous that this administration believes it's within their power to force people to violate their right of religion if it interferes with this administration's agenda," Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) said. "It should disturb people of all faiths, or for that matter people of no faith at all, that President Obama has such a low opinion of the first amendment that he would trample on these rights."
In addition to the contraception mandate, health insurance plans must now cover additional screenings and services for women without passing on any of the cost to the patient.
"These include services that are essential to helping women stay healthy -- such as domestic violence screening, FDA-approved contraception, breastfeeding support and supplies, gestational diabetes screening, HPV testing, sexually transmitted infection counseling, and HIV screening," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote in a USA Today op-ed published Tuesday.
"That's on top of other potentially life-saving services such as cholesterol screenings and flu shots that many private plans and Medicare have already begun covering with no co-pay thanks to the law."
UPDATE: 3:00 p.m. -- Democrats hammered Kelly for his remarks.
"Equating women's health care and contraception with two of the darkest days in American history is not just wrong -- it's shameful," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D-N.Y.), who has spent the last decade dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. "Hopefully Rep. Kelly will realize his rhetoric doesn't match the situation. Safe, accessible contraception is a fundamental part of virtually every woman's health care at some point in their lives."
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), whose district incudes Ground Zero, said Kelly should apologize.
“For the thousands of Americans who lost their lives on these two horrible days, to the thousands more who put on a uniform to protect this country and ensure that the lives of those lost are not forgotten, to the thousands more who mourned the loss of a loved one or bore witness to those two tragic days in American history, Mike Kelly’s comments are beyond outrageous," Nadler said in a statement. "To drag the memories of those lost and those still grieving into the culture wars is unforgivable. And to equate those terrible attacks with the safe and legal availability of contraception for women -- ostensibly to score political points -- is stunning. The American people deserve an apology.”
And Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) responded in a similar manner.
"I witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and had the privilege of serving in the United States Army during World War II and I find the comments made by the Congressman from Pennsylvania to be misguided and insulting," he said. "It is complete nonsense to suggest that a matter discussed, debated, and approved by the Congress and the President is akin to a surprise attack that killed nearly 2,500 people and launched our nation into the second World War or a terrorist attack that left nearly 3,000 dead and led to fighting and dying in Afghanistan and Iraq. Having fought for this nation in Europe, I find that I have a special kinship with those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and I routinely visit with the most severely wounded veterans of those conflicts. Just yesterday I met with a brave young man who lost all four of his limbs in Afghanistan. I hope the Congressman from Pennsylvania has the courage to share his comparison with them."
Amanda Terkel and Mike McAuliff contributed reporting.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Yeah I saw that. Pearl Harbor this is, that women get freedom over their reproductive system. The world is now coming to an end. :roll: Fucking Republicans.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, where is she?
How? If women don't believe in birth control pills they don't have to get them. The government isn't forcing anyone to take them.. :? Am I missing something here?
The key statement there is "private medical health insurers".
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Fucking Democrats
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
A good reason for a head-scratching smilie is there ever was one.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Exactly.
Haha... I just happened to pop back in after all this time on the right day I guess.
And, yeah, I'm just completely dumbfounded by how bad shit has gotten in this country. I have to agree: Fucking Republicans. (As a group, not every Republican - just the dumfuck ones.)
It will end up like food stamps...
These fuckers will be flipping the pills on ebay, or selling them half price...
So they can go get a bottle of Vodka....
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Half of $0.00 for a bottle of vofka?!
If women don't believe in birth control pills they don't have to get them. The government isn't forcing anyone to take them.. :? Am I missing something here?:
Good point. I think the word "mandate might be what's catching some people up. Maybe a different word would have been a better choice.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Free.
As in FREE???
FREE??
This isnt costing anyone, anything?
FREE????
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
You don't see this as a necessary expense? You'd rather these women not have sex at all or just pop out babies every year?
I do wonder though - condoms are pretty cheap and effective. Aside from the (lack of) spontaneity factor, what's the issue with using them vs. the more-expensive BC pills? Why can't it be on both men and women to be responsible for contraception?
And, agreed on the Pearl Harbor comparison. Not only inappropriate, but stupid to boot.
It's not free though is it?
But I get your point and agree.
I agree that both men & women should be responsible for contraception.
But, relatively speaking, condoms are not very effective. Also, the importance of the mandate isn't about the pill so much as it is about IUDs and implants, which are significantly more effective than the pill but are super unaffordable.
Here's some data on what percentage of women/couples typically get pregnant within one year, based on their method of contraception:
Condoms - 15%
The Pill - 8%
ParaGard IUD - 0.8%
Female Sterilization - 0.5%
Mirena IUD - 0.2%
Contraceptive Implant - 0.05%
So women who rely on condoms for contraception are twice as likely to get pregnant just within the first year than those who use the pill and 300 times more likely to get pregnant within the first year than women who use implants. But Implants cost $659, not including the doctor's appointment and insertion fees. Many/most insurance companies didn't cover that 2 days ago, despite the fact that it would save them $billions.
Now, thanks to the preventive care (it's not just about contraception) mandate, women with insurance can finally have access to the most effective forms of contraception. This should finally reduce the 49% unintended pregnancy rate in the U.S., which is one of the highest in the developed world and hasn't improved in decades. Hopefully it will also help the maternal mortality rate, which is higher than much of the developed world and is increasing.
(sidenote - addressing you as _ up there just seems odd to me
jose, I could be mistaken, but I think most folks that take issue with this mandate have a problem with the access to care being free, not that it shouldn't be there at all.
You can call me Underscore if you'd like.
I prefer scb...wasn;t that it?
Good memory!
I hear you ...
meaning??
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
heck no its not free...but what in life is?? BUT to cover erectile dysfunction and not birth control smacks of sexual inequality... and horseshit.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say