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Thanks To Obamacare, The Number Of Women Who Aren’t Charged For Birth Control Has Jumped 25 Percent
Thanks To Obamacare, The Number Of Women Who Aren’t Charged For Birth Control Has Jumped 25 Percent
By Tara Culp-Ressler
Under Obamacare, privately insured women are increasingly accessing contraceptive services without paying an additional co-pay, according to a new study from the Guttmacher Institute. The study’s authors point out that their data proves there’s a real demand for affordable birth control among U.S. women.
The researchers surveyed data from women between the ages of 18 and 39, comparing the co-pays they paid for their birth control method before and after Obamacare’s contraceptive coverage requirement took effect for most insurance plans. Between those two time periods, they saw a sharp increase in the number of women who had no out-of-pocket costs for their birth control pills, jumping from just 15 percent to 40 percent. There was a similar increase among women using the vaginal ring, from 23 percent to 52 percent:
In August, the Health and Human Services Department estimated that 27 million women had already gained access to this contraceptive coverage. But that didn’t reveal how many people were actually taking advantage of this benefit. The Guttmacher researchers point out that, considering the dramatic uptick in the number of women paying no out-of-pocket costs for contraception, it’s clear that it’s being put to good use.
“Our analysis provides the first quantitative evidence that the cost-sharing protection under the ACA is indeed working as intended,” Lawrence B. Finer, the lead author of the study, noted in a statement. “Large numbers of women who couldn’t previously do so are now obtaining birth control without co-pays or deductibles, which allows them to more easily attain contraception’s well-documented health, social and economic benefits.”
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/11/3048641/obamacare-25-percent-women-charged-birth-control/
By Tara Culp-Ressler
Under Obamacare, privately insured women are increasingly accessing contraceptive services without paying an additional co-pay, according to a new study from the Guttmacher Institute. The study’s authors point out that their data proves there’s a real demand for affordable birth control among U.S. women.
The researchers surveyed data from women between the ages of 18 and 39, comparing the co-pays they paid for their birth control method before and after Obamacare’s contraceptive coverage requirement took effect for most insurance plans. Between those two time periods, they saw a sharp increase in the number of women who had no out-of-pocket costs for their birth control pills, jumping from just 15 percent to 40 percent. There was a similar increase among women using the vaginal ring, from 23 percent to 52 percent:
In August, the Health and Human Services Department estimated that 27 million women had already gained access to this contraceptive coverage. But that didn’t reveal how many people were actually taking advantage of this benefit. The Guttmacher researchers point out that, considering the dramatic uptick in the number of women paying no out-of-pocket costs for contraception, it’s clear that it’s being put to good use.
“Our analysis provides the first quantitative evidence that the cost-sharing protection under the ACA is indeed working as intended,” Lawrence B. Finer, the lead author of the study, noted in a statement. “Large numbers of women who couldn’t previously do so are now obtaining birth control without co-pays or deductibles, which allows them to more easily attain contraception’s well-documented health, social and economic benefits.”
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/11/3048641/obamacare-25-percent-women-charged-birth-control/
Obamacare enrollment soars in November
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024162261