Starting in August 2012, insurance companies have been instructed to cover contraception. Women covered by private health insurance will no longer have to pay for birth control prescriptions, family planning, nor seven other services aimed at preventing disease and promoting well-being in women.

The Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama in March 2010 required that certain preventive care services, such as colonoscopies and vaccinations, be offered with no out-of-pocket costs to patients. It also directed the federal health agency to take a hard look at gaps in covered services for women.

Starting a year from now, women renewing their insurance coverage will receive free screening for domestic violence, diabetes during pregnancy, and human papillomavirus in women 30 and older. They also will be entitled to at least one visit with a doctor to discuss birth control options, general health issues, or preconception counseling, at no extra cost.

Mothers who choose to breast-feed will be offered free lactation counseling and rented equipment, such as breast pumps, to help continue breast-feeding after they return to work.

The new guidelines will ensure that “no woman in America has to choose between paying a grocery bill and paying a copayment for preventive care that could save her life,’’ US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said.

The Institute of Medicine panel said the change to birth control coverage will benefit women and children. Mothers are more likely to get good prenatal care when the pregnancy is planned, and contraception can help women avoid getting pregnant again within months of giving birth, which can increase the risk of having a baby who is too small. Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, Johnson said.

source: boston.com