Panel recommends free wellness coverage for women

WASHINGTON – A committee of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine has recommended that all health insurance plans be required to offer female patients free coverage of prescription birth control, breast pump rentals, counseling for domestic violence, annual wellness exams and HIV tests. The recommendations are nonbinding.
Under the new health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration was directed to draw up a list of preventive services for women that all new health plans must cover without deductibles or co-payments. The review, conducted by the independent advisory panel of health experts, was requested by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Sebelius called the committee’s report “historic,” one “based on science and existing literature,” saying that the report was being reviewed closely.
The committee’s decision to put the full range of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives on its proposed list of services is controversial. It has provoked criticism from the conservative Family Research Council, which has claimed that many Americans may object to birth control on religious grounds.
However, since 2000, federal law has required employers to include contraception if they pay for other preventive services and prescription drugs. In 1998, a requirement for birth control coverage was added by Congress to health plans for federal employees.
R.I. Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher F. Koller said that in terms of Rhode Island insurance policy, it was a question for the General Assembly, which makes these policies through statute. “I am familiar with the Institute of Medicine study process,” he said. “It is carefully designed to provide objective, comprehensive and independent analysis based on available evidence. We would be hard pressed in Rhode Island to be able to replicate this kind of analysis.”
The chief medical officer of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island also voiced support for report. “Neighborhood supports the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation to expand access to preventive services for women,” said Dr. Mack Johnston, chief medical officer for Neighborhood Health Plan. “Medicaid, and consequently Neighborhood, currently covers these preventive and screening services. We believe that all women should have access to these services regardless of insurance status.”
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island said that it respected the Institute of Medicine, because their findings are evidence-based and scientific. “We have not evaluated all the recommendations presented in the comprehensive report since it was just released, but have had the opportunity to see the report brief,” said Blue Cross spokeswoman Kimberly R. Reingold. “Many of the services outlined [in the report] are currently covered at 100 percent. Blue Cross believes that preventive services are critical to ensuring Rhode Islanders’ health and well-being, which is why we made a conscious effort to cover services like wellness preventive care visits even before [federal health care reform] was enacted.”