Mandatory Birth Control Coverage?

Today the Department of Health and Human Services fully adopted the Women's Health Recommendations via the Institute of Medicine, including the suggestion that insurance plans begin to cover birth control prescriptions. NPR news reports:

Starting a year from now, most new health insurance policies, and eventually almost every policy, will have to offer a comprehensive list of women's preventive health services with no copay or deductible, including all forms of prescription contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Other coverage includes counseling for those with STD contractions and those experiencing domestic violence, support for breast feeding mothers, annual wellness visit, annual HIV counseling and testing. Twenty eight states already mandate contraceptive coverage is offered in insurance policies.

The 'women's prevention package' will be available January 1 of 2013

Check out the story on NPR here and here.