Copyright 1999 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
January 22, 1999, Friday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: FLORIDA/METRO, Pg. 1
LENGTH: 327 words
HEADLINE: If
his pill is covered, why not hers, too?;
BYLINE:
MARGARET TALEV, of The Tampa Tribune;
BODY:
TALLAHASSEE - Some lawmakers say it's unfair to cover Viagra and not
the pill. Insurers worry about the effect on premiums.
What's good
for the gander should be good for the goose, some female lawmakers say.
So they're backing a proposal that would force all insurers who cover
Viagra, a drug used to treat male sexual dysfunction, to also cover
contraceptives, from birth control pills to Norplant to diaphragms.
It's one of three proposals before the Legislature this year that would
extend health coverage to women's contraceptives.
The biggest
fight may come not from conservative religious groups but from insurers and
businesses. They say mandating coverage or even partial coverage of
contraceptives would greatly increase premiums and result in as many as
10,000 Floridians losing their health insurance coverage.
Heidi
Garwood of the Florida Association of Health Maintenance Organizations Inc. told
House lawmakers on Thursday that mandating contraceptive
coverage would create a "Cadillac health insurance policy" that
would be out of range for many employers and individuals.
Rep. Lois
Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, said the opposite is true. "I think payment for
contraceptives in the long run is going to save costs," Frankel said.
If fewer women get pregnant, she said, insurers would spend less on the
cost of prenatal care and delivering babies.
Lawmakers and
lobbyists on both sides of the issue say the so-called Viagra bill will probably
go nowhere. The House Governmental Operations Committee voted 4-2 against
it.
Two similar measures are being considered more seriously. One would
mandate that insurers cover contraceptives across the board - whether or
not they also cover Viagra. Another would extend Medicaid coverage to
contraceptives.
Seven states have passed some form of
contraceptive coverage. Margaret Talev covers state
government. She can be reached at (850) 222-8382.
LOAD-DATE: January 23, 1999 
