Women who take out, or renew, a health insurance plan on or after September 23, 2010, will no longer have to pay a co-payment, co-insurance or meet deductibles to receive certain health preventive services, as long as the services are provided by a network provider. This new piece of legislation was passed under Health Care Reform as part of the Affordable Care Act and announced by the Obama administration on July 14, 2010. So what does this mean for women?
What health insurance plans must cover for preventive services for women
Certain types of preventive health services must be provided by health insurance plans at no extra charge from September 23, 2010. Examples of preventive health services for all adults include such conditions as:
- breast cancer tests
- screening of vitamin deficiencies in pregnant women
- type 2 diabetes tests for women with high blood pressure
- high cholesterol screenings
- aspirin use
- alcohol misuse screening
- obesity screening
- blood pressure screening
- HIV screening for women at high risk.
Full list of covered preventive health services for women under the Affordable Care Act
The full list of covered preventive health services for women under the new Health Care Reform guidelines from September 23, 2010, as according to the HealthCare.gov web site are:
- mammograms for breast cancer screening every one to two years for women aged 40 and over
- anemia screening for pregnant women
- breast cancer chemoprevention counseling for high risk women
- cervical cancer screening for women who are sexually active
- folic acid supplements for potentially pregnant women
- osteoporosis screening for women over the age of 60, depending on risk factors
- syphilis screening for pregnant women or those who are at increased risk
- hepatitis B screening for pregnant women at first prenatal visit
- gonorrhea screening for high risk women
- chlamydia infection screening for young and high risk women
- tobacco use screening and intervention
- Rh incompatibility screening for pregnant and high risk women
- breast feeding support and promotion
- BRCA counseling about genetic testing for high risk women
- urinary tract or other infection screening for pregnant women.
Medicare and other preventive health services for women
Further preventive health services for women, but not yet finalized, are expected to be added under the new guidelines in the future. In addition, women under medicare will get access to the majority of preventive health services at no additional cost from January 1, 2011. Although preventive health care carries an upfront cost, preventive health care is beneficial in the long run, as it provides an opportunity to catch a potential life threatening condition before it is too advanced. Presently, many women skip preventive health services due to the additional costs involved. The question is, will you now take regular preventive health screenings and tests if it is covered by your health insurance at no extra cost? Take the poll below....
Poll on Preventive Health Services for Women
References:
- HealthCare.gov web site, accessed July 27, 2010
CopyrightSharonFalsetto2010
Comments
and...so a woman gets preventive health care (tests) at no cost and then finds she has breast cancer; she is low income to begin with, can barely afford the health insurance premiums and now faces a cruel death because she cannot afford treatment.
Thank you for a great informative article. The Affordable Care Act has been judged by the uninformed who need to go the bipartisan Library of Congress.com to find all the facts which also has options for affordable care after the screening.
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