Here are good news on this depressing day from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. You see,
birth control will finally be covered by private insurance plans. It means that women, instead of having to pay the full copay of their birth control,
will instead have their private insurer cover it in full.
This is good news for women. I pay $35 a month for my birth control, and in the past four years, that's been $1,680 spent on birth control. Other women pay even more per month on their birth control. It also isn't just birth control that's covered under the new rules by the HHS.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced sweeping new guidelines for women's health care which will change everything from distribution of birth control pills to administration of breast exams -- and will mean insured women will no longer pay anything out of their own pocket.
Beginning Aug. 1, 2012, all private insurance plans will be required to cover women's preventive services without a co-pay or deductible. The move is intended to help women have the chance to stop health problems before they start.
...
Beginning one year from today will be co-pay or deductible-free well-woman visits, screening for gestational diabetes, breast-feeding support, domestic violence screening and all FDA approved birth control methods -- including emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill.
"Most private health care plans, including the private health care plan available to members of Congress, already include most of these services, including contraception. Family planning is something that keeps women healthy, and it was an important piece of today's announcement," Cutter said.
Will it impact premiums? We don't know yet at this point. This is a small bright spot in a very dark day. Does it make the debt ceiling sellout any more palatable? No, it doesn't. It still sucks.