Earlier this month, the Institute of Medicine recommended that all forms of birth control, and contraceptive counseling, should be completely covered by health insurance plans. United States Catholic bishops and health experts are displeased about this suggestion.
One of the regulations that has taken place in regards to health care reform involves preventative care. All health insurance companies are required to cover the cost of everything that is considered preventative care, without charging customers for co-pays, or deductibles. There has been some debate as to whether or not certain kinds of women’s health care counted as preventative care. Specifically, there was concern about birth control.
The Institute of Medicine’s report recommends that health insurance plans should cover the entire cost of screening for sexually transmitted diseases, lactation counseling, and “the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods”.
The report specifically lists that “barrier methods, hormonal methods, emergency contraception, implanted devices, and sterilization” should be covered by insurance. Another thing that the Institute of Medicine’s report recommends should also be covered as “preventative health care” would be patient education and counseling for “all women with reproductive capacity”.
In short, this report highly recommends that contraception should be free, for women who have health insurance, because it is something that falls under the definition of preventative care.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the other hand, are strongly opposed to this idea. This opinion is connected to the group’s religious beliefs. The Catholic Church prohibits it’s followers from using any form of birth control. This includes condoms, hormonally based birth control, implanted forms of birth control, and Plan B.
The Catholic Church only allows followers to use “natural family planning”, that relies on observing a woman’s body in order keep track of menstruation, and to time sexual activity around ovulation. Obviously, this form of birth control is free. It also isn’t anywhere near as effective as the forms of birth control that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are opposed to.
The Catholic Bishops are also opposed to having health insurance cover the cost of birth control because they feel that at least some of it causes abortions. This, too, would go against the teachings of the Catholic Church. From what I have read, the most controversial form of birth control, for the Catholic Bishops is Plan B.
I understand the reasons why the Catholic Bishops do not want their followers to use birth control, especially Plan B. I have yet to read what their reasoning is behind wanting to prevent people who are not Catholic from being able to have access to insurance coverage for their birth control needs.
There was a study done by the Public Religion Research Institute which was published in May of 2011. The survey asked 300 people who were Catholics about their views on birth control. It turned out that 85% of the respondents said that they were in favor of giving women who could not afford birth control more access to it. It seems that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is not in touch with the viewpoints that many of their followers have regarding birth control, and the potential of it being covered by health insurance.
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