The Women ’s Health Amendment Is Getting An Update. What Should It Include?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most private health plans in the United States to cover four sets of recommended preventive services without copayments, deductibles, or other out-of-pocket costs. One of those four sets of services focused on women’s preventive care needs. It was called for under the law’s Women’s Health Amendment, developed by an Institute of Medicine panel, and officially incorporated by the federal government into health plans’ requirements in 2012. Taken as a whole, the ACA’s preventive services provision requires coverage of a wide array of sexual and reproductive health services, from breast and cervical cancer screening to breastfeeding support to counseling for domestic violence. This year, a formal effort to update the services provided for under the Women’s Health Amendment—a process called the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative—offers a further opportunity to expand and improve coverage of preventive care for women nationwide. This is a five-year effort led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) under an agreement with the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), with representation from about 20 other health professional organizations and consumer advocacy groups. The ACOG panel has reviewed the existing women’s preventive services recommendations and released draft updates to these recommendations on September 1, with a public comment period ending on September 3...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Equity and Disparities Public Health Quality ACA contraceptive coverage HIV/AIDS sexually transmitted infections Women's Health Source Type: blogs