Good news -- the Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of Kathleen Sebelius has announced nearly universal coverage of contraception in employer healthcare plans.
Today, in a huge victory for women’s health, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that most employers will be required to cover contraception in their health plans, along with other preventive services, with no cost-sharing such as co-pays or deductibles. This means that after years of trying to get birth control covered to the same extent that health plans cover Viagra, our country will finally have nearly universal coverage of contraception. [...]
Twenty-eight states already require employers, including most religiously affiliated institutions, to cover contraception in their health plans. The only change is that now they must cover the full cost.
The right wing outrage will be palpable, but the joke is on them because this will undoubtedly lead to fewer abortions and fewer unwanted pregnancies. The connection between readily accessible reproductive healthcare and lower abortion rates is something they always neglect to mention while sermonizing the War on Women.
Employers have one year to comply with the new rules.
Just like Bush.