Sen. Roy Blunt (Larry Downing/Reuters)
At the heart of the latest culture war Republicans are waging is the fact that birth control is basic preventive health care for women. It was included as part of the preventive health care services under the Affordable Care Act precisely for that reason: The medical community, represented by the highly respected, non-partisan Institute of Medicine
recognizes birth control as preventive medicine that should be provided, free of charge, for all women who need it.
Expanding that care, and all preventive health care, is a critical public health function of the government, and one where the Affordable Care Act is already working. A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that an added 54 million people received some kind expanded health care services because of the ACA, including "services such as colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears and mammograms for women, well-child visits, flu shots for all children and adults, and many more." Note that this applies to plans issued after March 10, 2010, after the ACA became law, and doesn't apply to older plans.
Here's a chart that provides some of the demographic breakdown of those 54 million people.
And here's a sampling of what's covered now, by age breakdown.
- Children (0-17): Coverage includes regular pediatrician visits, vision and hearing screening, developmental assessments, immunizations, and screening and counseling to address obesity and help children maintain a healthy weight.
- Women (18-64): Coverage includes cancer screening such as pap smears for those ages 21 to 64, mammograms for those ages 50 to 64, and colonoscopy for those 50 to 64; recommended immunizations such as HPV vaccination for women ages 19 to 26, flu shots for all adults, and meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccinations for high-risk adults; healthy diet counseling and obesity screening; cholesterol and blood pressure screening; screening for sexually-transmitted infections and HIV; depression screening; and tobacco-use counseling. Starting in August 2012, additional preventive services specific to women, such as screening for gestational diabetes and contraception, will be covered by new health plans with no cost sharing.
- Men (18-64): Coverage includes recommended immunizations such as flu shots for all adults and meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccinations for high-risk adults; cancer screening including colonoscopy for adults 50 to 64; healthy diet counseling and obesity screening; cholesterol and blood pressure screening; screening for HIV; depression screening; and tobacco-use counseling.
And now congressional Republicans want to take all of that away, to allow employers to dictate whether any of these preventive services have to be provided. Under Sen. Roy Blunt's
repeal amendment, any employer could deny coverage for any of those services if they had a "moral" objection.