Woman with birth control pills. (photo: Image Point)
Trump's Contraception Rule Ignores the Reality That Birth Control Is Health
Care
By Louise Slaughter, The Hill
12 October 17
The birth control pill had a revolutionary impact on our nation when the FDA
approved it for use more than 50 years ago. It gave women the opportunity to
plan their family in a medically-safe way, which studies have linked to
lower infant mortality and abortion rates. It also provided treatment for
conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Despite this
clear and essential medical need, birth control pills were rarely treated
like an important medication. Insurers often treated it like a luxury
instead of basic health care, failing to cover it in insurance plans and
leaving women to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket costs that sometimes totaled
as much as 44 percent of their health care expenses.
This all changed when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
into law. More than ten years after Viagra was first covered by insurance,
insurers were finally required to cover birth control at no cost. This
policy recommendation was made after an Institute of Medicine committee of
16 leading women's health care experts embarked on a rigorous eight month
process. I brought the ACA to the floor of the House as chairwoman of the
House Committee on Rules, and it remains one of my proudest moments. The
results have been striking.
As a result, 62 million women now access contraception at no cost to them,
which has helped drive down total prescription drug costs for all Americans
by 63 percent nationwide. One study estimated that women saved more than
$1.4 billion on birth control pills alone in just a single year. This is
money that women are now free to spend on food, education, other medical or
household expenses, or to improve the quality of life for her family and
children.
The impacts go beyond just savings. With women free to plan for their
future, the rate of unintended pregnancy is at a 30-year low, teen pregnancy
is at an all-time low, and women are better able to avoid high-risk medical
conditions like pre-eclampsia. In fact, the Guttmacher Institute found in
January that the rate of abortions in the United States has fallen to its
lowest level since the Supreme Court issued its landmark Roe v. Wade
decision protecting a woman's Constitutional right to choose in 1973.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration moved late last week to roll back
this progress. This move would let anyone, from bosses to insurance
executives, decide who gets access to contraception coverage. It's not just
employees that will be impacted, students attending a private college or
university could also see the health care coverage they rely on ripped away.
Women won't just have to pay slightly higher costs under this rule, they
will have to pay for the full cost of their birth control if it is no longer
covered. That's no small thing. Birth control pills can cost more than $600
a year without insurance coverage, with some brand name and low estrogen
pills costing much more. Longer-term methods like IUDs could cost up to
$1,000 without insurance, with the up-front costs totaling the average
month's salary for a woman earning minimum wage. Meaning that women may make
their health care decisions based on cost, not what is best for them.
Turning back the clock on contraception also means going back to the days
when many women couldn't decide if or when to start or grow their family. It
means forcing women to choose between paying for their birth control or
paying for their groceries. And it almost certainly will mean higher
abortion rates and more unplanned pregnancies.
Watching Congressional Republicans as the president has announced this rule,
I am reminded of what my former colleague, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), once
said. Speaking at Ford Hall back in 1981, he said, "The Moral Majority
supports legislators who oppose abortions but also oppose child nutrition
and day care. From their perspective, life begins at conception and ends at
birth."
His words are just as true now as they were then. That's because the
Republicans supporting President Trump's new rule were unable to extend the
Children's Health Insurance Program before it expired on Sept. 30. More than
9 million children get their health insurance through this program. The
Republican majority also routinely cuts funding for food stamps and other
nutrition programs. Just last week, the House considered a budget resolution
that cut funding for Medicaid, education, and housing, inevitably hurting
children. Their hypocrisy is striking. Truly caring about children means
caring for them long after they are born.
This is not a controversial issue, an estimated 77 percent of women and 64
percent of men support providing contraception care at no cost. It is
outrageous that the president has moved unilaterally to take our country
backwards, and far from what Congress intended with the Affordable Care Act.
The Washington Post recently found that President Trump said more than 20
times since his campaign began that he respects women. There is not enough
evidence to convict him of that. He should put his words into action by
realizing that respecting women means trusting them to protect their health
and safety and to plan their families.
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