Contraceptive Coverage and Massachusetts Law I ve been noticing some confusion about whether/how the Obama Administration s decision to require all employers (except churches) to offer contraceptive coverage in their employee health insurance plans will matter in Massachusetts. It will, mlb jerseys so allow me to try and shed some light (and offer a brief comment at the end): According to a National Conference of State Legislatures report in August 2011, at least 26 states by law require insurers that cover prescription drugs to also provide coverage for any moncler discount jackets Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptive, including: Arizona, Arkansas, California, moncler parka Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. So contraceptive coverage in Massachusetts is a mandated benefit for individuals and employers who purchase state licensed health insurance policies. Importantly, this law has no effect on the large majority of large employers who "self insure" more than half of the privately insured market. The requirement is located in Section 47W, Chapter 175 of the moncler woman General Laws. Here are the essential parts: Section 47W. (a) Any individual policy of accident and sickness insurance issued pursuant to section 108 and any group blanket policy of accident and sickness insurance issued pursuant to section 110 that is delivered, issued or renewed within or without the commonwealth and that provides benefits for outpatient services shall provide outpatient contraceptive services under the same terms and conditions as for such other outpatient services. Outpatient contraceptive services shall mean consultations, examinations, procedures and medical services provided on an outpatient basis and related to the use of all contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. section 3121(w)(3)(A) and (B). So we have to dip into federal law to find out what the "church or qualified church controlled organization" exemption means. At your service: (A) For purposes of this subsection, the term "church" means a church, a convention or association of churches, or an elementary or secondary school which is controlled, operated, or principally supported by a church or by a convention or association of churches.(i) offers goods, services, or facilities for sale, other than on an incidental basis, to the general public, other than goods, services, or facilities which are sold at a nominal charge which is substantially less than the cost of providing such goods, services, or facilities; and (ii) normally receives more than 25 percent of its support from either (I) governmental sources, or (II) receipts from admissions, sales of merchandise, performance of services, or furnishing of facilities, in activities which are not unrelated trades or businesses, or both. By the way, this federal statutory reference appears in many of the state mandated benefit laws on contraceptive coverage so Massachusetts lawmakers moncler puffer coats did not dream up this citation on their own. Quite clear, it seems to me (disclosure I m not a lawyer), that this qualification would not let any large Catholic hospital or university off the hook. With one big, big exception, namely, employers who self insure, who are exempt from any and all state regulation relating to their plans. Thus, Boston College, for example, can do what it wants on this matter. By the way, our State s Division of Health Care Finance and Policy has been tracking and reporting on state mandated benefits for a number of years. Below is from their last review in July 2008: The contraceptive services mandate requires health plans to cover outpatient services related to the use of all Moncler Mens down jackets with hat black contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy. This mandate does not apply to insurance policies purchased by a church or church controlled organization. RDCs of this mandate included all claims for outpatient contraceptive procedures and consultations, all claims for evaluation and management with a contraception related diagnosis, and all pharmacy claims for contraceptive drugs and devices. Total estimated claims PMPM were $1.14, with a total PMPM of $1.33 (or 0.44% of the total premium) after administrative loading. Research suggests that contraceptives are generally effective; however, effectiveness varies with both the type moncler jackets for men 2014 of contraceptive used and its user. When comparing the rate of pregnancies among people who "typically use" a contraceptives, abstinence and surgical sterilization are the most effective forms of contraception available. Among prescribed, reversible contraception methods, implants are the most effective (0.05 pregnancies per 100 women), while cervical caps are the least effective (14 to 29 pregnancies per 100 women). Cost effectiveness research done with people on Medicaid found that contraceptive services reduced Medicaid funded costs for pregnancy related health care and medical care of newborns, as well as other costs such as those moncler apparel associated with high risk pregnancies. Mandating coverage of contraceptive services increases the range of contraception methods available to women who do not wish to become pregnant. Covering contraceptives may also have the added benefit of drawing women who may otherwise not seek out medical care to clinics to have routine check ups. So, bottom line: the new federal regulations will require coverage of contraceptives in all employer based plans beginning August 1st of this year. Religiously affiliated employers will have an additional year to comply and litigation to stop the the new rule is already certain. How many employers do not offer contraceptive coverage? We don t know. The Alan Guttmacher Institute reported in 2004 that 90% of employer based plans moncler parkas for women offer this coverage, though they did not include self insured plans in that estimate. By the way, here s an intriguing bit of information mentioned in today s ThinkProgress: Boston College and the six former Caritas Christi hospitals (now known as Steward Health Care System) offer coverage for contraceptive services as part of the employee health benefits. Comment: Decisions on what to cover and what not to cover are often the most emotional and contentious issues in health policy. Usually, a decision not to cover a medically necessary service (as contraception is) meets a chorus of cries of "rationing." No such accusations flowing now because it s the folks who like to scream "rationing" who want the right to continue doing it themselves

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contraceptives are for promiscuity Bill O Reilly, jerseys on tonight s O Reilly Factor, hosted Leslie Marshall and Janine Turner to discuss the media firestorm Rush Limbaugh has created with his incendiary comments toward Georgetown student Sandra Fluke (comments which included calling her a "slt" and a "prostitute") for her Congressional testimony that universities should provide contraceptive coverage in their health insurance plans and for the larger issue of contraceptive coverage. Far from showing remorse for his tasteless, crass, misogynistic comments, Limbaugh has doubled, and tripled, down on his attacks. To date, Limbaugh has seen some backlash in the form of seven lost advertisers (including Quicken Loans, Heart Body Extract, Sleep Train, Sleep Number, Legal Zoom, Citrix and the Cleveland Cavaliers), with likely more to come but far from giving Limbaugh a slap down for his hostile and vicious attack on a young college student who is earnestly advocating for women everywhere, O Reilly joined the fray in attacking Ms. Fluke, laying the groundwork in his Talking Points Memo: "Do you want to pay for other peoples activities... This woman, Sandra Fluke, third year law student at Georgetown University, Catholic school, believes that all of us should pay for her sexual activities... so let me get this straight, Ms. Fluke, and I m asking this with all due respect, I am you want me to give you my hard earned money so you can have sex, is that what you re asking for? Good grief... But let s get back to Sandra, who clearly wants society to pay for her activities... You see, this is all a ruse, I don t care what Sandra Fluke does, she s an American... but I don t want to pay for her recreation. This is madness. The progressive movement, totally ignoring reality, is defining this exclusively as a womens health issue. But there are health implications for everything we do, including eating a burger. It is Ms. Fluke herself who is responsible for what she does, not me and not you. This is all part of what the Obama Administration is trying to do: Regulate the freedom of Americans. The President even called Ms. appearance... What about the concerns of Americans in general, now forced to buy health insurance who don t want to pay extra for Sandra Fluke s social decision? Ms. Fluke is unconcerned (Fluke: "I think this is about womens health . . . ."). Now no matter what I say, Sandra Fluke and those who support her are not gonna listen. For them, sex is a potential health crisis so American taxpayers should now be responsible for what goes on in everybody s bedroom... this is a freedom issue. My issue as an American is being encroached upon. The Obama Administration is trying to force me and you to pick up the tab for what people do in their private time... But back to our wallets in this country. Progressive politicians like Barbara Boxer Moncler lucie new pop star Women down coat long pink are trying to make this a gender issue... there is no condom provision in Obamacare at least, not yet... This Viagra argument is another canard. And by the way, nobody is denying women birth control either, it s on sale everywhere... Men need to be physically in shape, so, why don t we pick up gym memberships... America became the strongest country... on earth because of self reliance... we used to be encouraged to work hard to achieve what we want... Now the progressive collosus is demanding payment for Sandra Fluke so that she can go through Georgetown law school with an active, healthy social life. Higher insurance premiums? Forget about it. Sandra and millions of other American women have many things they d like Moncler Mens down jackets with hat dark green to do on our tab." (emphasis added) Okay, let s get this straight: Birth control in the form of oral contraceptives has nothing to do with a woman s health (despite the fact that contraceptives are, in fact, also used for acne, to regulate debilitating menstrual periods, for hormone replacement, among other things), but Viagra should be automatically covered under health insurance because it s about a physical disability (yes, a limp dick) and "that s what Viagra covers for men?" Sure, and men go to Hooters for the ribs and read Playboy for the culture. But underlying this propping up of a man s limp member at the expense of a woman s contraceptive health and freedom is a bizarre twist of logic: Men need Viagra because of an, shall we say, inability to perform Moncler down jacket Men Hooded fur collar black adequately in sexual matters; when given Viagra, they are able to fully enjoy sexual activities with women who moncler nyc soho are called derogatory names for that same sexual activity, and denied contraceptives in their health insurance plans to avoid pregnancy as a result of the Viagra dosed male. When O Reilly was joined by Marshall and Turner, he piled it on: "This sense of entitlement I don t understand because I wasn t raised that way... okay, I have a social life, people, I have a social life, people, and I want you to pay for it. I went to college, I didn t have any money, Sandra... somehow I got by, somehow I painted houses so I could buy what I had to buy, but not for Sandra no, she wants it covered, by the government. moncler fall 2014 And this is driving me crazy, Janine how did that happen?" Is it a "sense of entitlement" for health insurance plans to cover maternity? No? How about mammograms, moncler women down jacket STD testing, Pap smears? Entitlement? No? Then why is it an "entitlement" for women to be provided with contraceptives contraceptives, incidentally, that practically everyone on the right, in their arguments against it, is claiming it s an insignificant expense for women (but evidently too expensive for cash cow health insurance companies to cover) when millions of women use oral contraceptives for medical purposes? Most health insurance companies cover vasectomies, a contraceptive measure, to the tune of about $2,000. And, as pointed out by Krystal Ball on The Ed Show, the best way to prevent abortion, which Republicans reject as an option, and the more expensive pregnancies that result from unprotected sex, is for women to have access to contraceptives... through their health insurance, just like the boys and their vasectomies and their Viagra. Karen Finney, MSNBC analyst, also noted on The Ed Show that the determined circling of the wagons around Rush by right wingers is because, "When their power is challenged, they stick together... they re trying to reduce Sandra and this story to, this is about sexual activity and sexual habits, which it s not... And the larger message here is, the Republican Party is standing with the Vatican and protecting the institution... what we re talking about is protecting the rights of the individual... the woman who would be affected by this... Just as we re talking about Sandra as a person not as some kind of sex object...." Finney also reminded kids moncler jackets us of one salient fact: "More women than men vote and we will remember this, and Democrats will use this and remind American women who is on their side." As a caveat to that, Republican women with contraceptive needs themselves, and the uncomfortable feeling of watching a young woman, perhaps not unlike their own daughters, being flogged and villified by men for honesty and sincerity also vote. Republicans have tried to frame the contraceptive debate by tying it to religious freedom: Didn t fly, we didn t buy it. Plan B link it to higher insurance premiums and "taxpayer dollars" being squandered: We didn t buy that one, either (mainly because it s patently untrue contraceptives actually boost the economy and save taxpayers money). Finally, Republicans in the form of Rush Limbaugh were driven into honesty by frustration and fury, and have now framed the debate in terms of out of mens moncler vest control female sexuality, which is what it s always been about. From House Speaker John Boehner to the GOP presidential candidates to pundits like Bill O Reilly and others, few on the Republican side have stepped up to harshly condemn Limbaugh s comments

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