Insurance Cover for Contraceptives, as Viagra is Covered
Date: January 30, 2006
The opening remarks on a bill to mandate contraceptive coverage was, "If the prescription pill Viagra is covered, why not cover the contraceptives used by women." This testimony came in a House Commerce Committee to enforce all the insurance companies to cover female contraceptives, if they cover any prescription drug like Viagra.
Rep. Bill Thompson, D-Sioux Falls, the main mover of the bill, voiced in the House that many insurance companies cover prescriptions for Viagra, a pill for ED. It is an act of discrimination on the part of these firms not to provide coverage for contraceptives that women use, he said. He added, it would be beneficial in batttling unwanted pregnancies too.
State Director of Planned Parenthood, Kate Looby, said the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions would decrease in South Dakota if insurance companies cover birth control measures. Nearly half of the unexpected pregnancies result in abortions, she said.
Looby added, it would cut cost for a company in preventing pregnancy than in paying for births. And covering contraceptive pays for itself as women need to have the ability to control their fertility. Jane Murphy, lobbyist for the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women and Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, is also rallying behind the bill.
Contraceptives are the basic care for women, why not cover them if you cover Viagra is the question that insurance firms are facing.
Source: Associated Press |
www.viagracare.com
