Posted by figleaf on
Tue, 2012-03-13 17:14
Kind of funny how those Affordable Care Act rules mandate coverage for vasectomies as well as birth control pills. But all the 'wingers want to talk about is blocking contraception for women.
Tags:
I thought it wasn't clear
Submitted by Irene (not verified) on Tue, 2012-03-13 21:00.I thought it wasn't clear that vasectomies were covered. See http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/February/27/five-questions-...
Here are some questions, and answers when we could determine them, about the rules:
1) Are male-based contraceptive methods, such as vasectomies or condoms, covered by the rule?
An HHS official said on Friday that women’s preventive services guidelines apply to women only.
Guidelines issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration, part of HHS, require coverage without cost sharing for "all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity" as prescribed by a provider, according to the Federal Register.
The insurers' letter from September says they interpreted the rule to include only female-based contraception and that the requirement to waive co-payments "does not apply to methods and procedures intended for males."
But Adam Sonfield, senior public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research group, says the language is unclear, and it would be foolish to exclude vasectomies. For one thing, he says, they are less expensive and pose a lower risk of complications than female surgical sterilization methods. Plus, he says, waiving co-payments for services for one sex but not the other raises issues of discrimination.