Washington, DC – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help close the gender gap on recommended preventative health services for women and men.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Bennet pushed the Department to follow the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendations for women’s preventative health services in its implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive services provisions. HHS is expected to announce this week what specifically will be classified as preventive care covered in the Affordable Care Act.
“These recommendations will help close the gender gap that previously existed between recommended preventive health services for women and men,” Bennet wrote in the letter. “They are evidence-based to improve women’s health and drive down future health care costs. Investing in preventive health care for women is among the wisest investments we can make to improve our nation’s health and decrease health care costs.”
One of the IOM’s recommendations would classify prescription contraceptives as preventive care. In Colorado, more than 275,400 women need help covering the cost of contraceptive services.
During the health reform debate, Bennet joined 24 Senators on a letter urging Senate leadership to include an end to gender rating, which unfairly charges women higher premiums than men, in the Affordable Care Act. This letter served as a catalyst for the Women’s Preventative Health Amendment to the Affordable Care Act.
Full text of the letter is included below.
Dear Secretary Sebelius:
As a proud supporter of the Women’s Preventive Health Amendment to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), I am writing to voice my strong support for the inclusion of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendations for women’s preventive health services in the Department’s definition of the ACA’s preventive services provisions.
These recommendations will help close the gender gap that previously existed between recommended preventive health services for women and men. And they are evidence-based to improve women’s health and drive down future health care costs.
One of the IOM’s recommendations would classify prescription contraceptives as preventive care. In Colorado, more than 275,400 women needed help covering the cost of contraceptive services. Evidence shows that women with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to seek adequate prenatal care, increasing their risk of preterm birth as well as the chances that their child will have health and developmental problems. Access to birth control also decreases risk of acquiring sexually-transmitted infections. Providing women with a full range of contraceptive methods will help put women in control of their health.
IOM’s recommendations would also provide women with services such as HIV and sexually-transmitted infection testing and counseling, as well as services to help American mothers like lactation support and gestational diabetes screening.
Investing in preventive health care for women is among the wisest investments we can make to improve our nation’s health and decrease health care costs. I urge you to adopt the IOM’s recommendations for women’s preventive health services.