The Promise of No-Cost Birth Control for Women Moves One Step Closer to Reality
The Promise of No-Cost Birth Control for Women Moves One Step Closer to Reality NARAL Pro-Choice Montana calls on the Obama Administration to adopt expert panel's recommendation that health-insurance plans cover contraception without a copay Helena, MT – Julianna Crowley, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana, is pleased by a recent recommendation from a panel of medical experts to include contraception on a list of preventative services, and thus be available at no cost. The federal health-care law requires health plans to cover—at no cost—certain preventive-health services that are specific to women. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appointed the Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel to recommend which services should be included. The panel, which included obstetricians, gynecologists, and other leading women's health experts, recommended fully covering family-planning care.HHS now will decide whether to adopt the experts' recommendation and make no-cost contraception a benefit required by law. “As a young woman, I have experienced first hand the difficulty we are sometimes faced when it comes to paying for birth control” Crowley said. “Currently, nearly one in three women finds it difficult to pay for birth control, and that's part of the reason why in Montana 48 out of 1000 pregnancies are unintended. Making family-planning services available at no cost will help Montana women prevent unintended pregnancy and thereby reduce the need for abortion. We are confident that the Obama administration will adopt the IOM's science-based recommendation and make affordable contraception a reality for all women.” In November 2010, NARAL Pro-Choice America testified before the IOM panel and joined all 21 of its state affiliates, including NARAL Pro-Choice Montana, in calling for family-planning services to be made available to women at no cost. In addition, NARAL Pro-Choice Montana has launched a grassroots mobilization campaign to engage Montanans on this very important issue as a compliment to the efforts NARAL Pro-Choice America is currently undertaking. “Montana state law already requires health-insurance plans that cover prescription medication to provide equitable coverage for contraception. This next step for the nation would be right in line with Montana's values. Montanans are united behind the commonsense goal that improving women's access to birth control is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy,” Crowley said. “Unfortunately, the current anti-choice majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, including our very own Rep. Dennis Rehberg, has voted twice this year to defund family-planning programs that provide contraception and other basic care to millions of women and couples. These politicians are so out of touch with our country's mainstream values that they will try to derail the promise of no-cost birth control, and we will fight them every step of the way.” CONTACT: Julianna Crowley, 449-8193 or julianna@prochoicemontana.org
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