Copyright 1999 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
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July 22, 1999, THURSDAY, Late
Sports Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. 29
LENGTH: 408 words
HEADLINE:
Extend coverage
BYLINE: Editorials
BODY:
A nationwide push to force health insurers to
pay for birth control has gained momentum, winning the endorsement last week of
yet another medical group. It appears inevitable that the position of the
American Osteopathic Association and other groups -- that any health
insurance plan that covers prescription drugs should also
include contraceptives for women -- eventually will
prevail.
Employers and the insurance industry oppose
the creeping encroachment of mandated medical care. In recent years, state and
federal laws have required insurers to pay for minimum stays after childbirth,
mastectomies or heart bypass operations. And, indeed, it is unwarranted
interference when government starts legislating medicine. But with prescription
drug insurance, it is a matter of parity. Many
insurance plans pay for Viagra, a pill to treat sexual
dysfunction in men, while excluding birth control. To women everywhere, that
smacks of discrimination. And women have demonstrated clout at the polls in a
number of recent elections. They will be heard on this issue, too.
A
1995 survey by the Alan Guttmacher Institute showed that 84 percent of health
maintenance organizations paid for the Pill, but only 39 percent covered
injections, implants and other forms of reversible contraception. Coverage was
more restricted under traditional insurance plans, with only 33
percent paying for the Pill and just 15 percent covering all five methods of
reversible birth control.
Nine states recently passed legislation
requiring that contraceptives be included in prescription
plans. Illinois is among the 15 states that have rejected birth control
coverage, citing increased costs for insurers and employers. But statistics will
show there is a greater cost in unintended pregnancies -- whether
though abortions or through prenatal care, labor and delivery. And there are no
statistics on the costs to society -- in terms of welfare and
crime -- of unwanted children.
Market forces should determine
which medical conditions and prescription drugs are included in health
insurance plans. One of those forces in this instance is the
powerful voice of women who see the insurance system as biased
against them. When there is evidence of discrimination, the state probably will
see a duty to step in with mandates for equal benefits. The health
insurance industry in Illinois would best take the lead and
extend coverage to contraceptives.
LOAD-DATE: July 22, 1999 
