Rep. Franks (R) says contraception item added to CR bc it "had support from a lot of us" & rule is "one of the worst things" in Obamacare.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 29, 2013
At a press conference yesterday, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) pointed out that by attaching the “Women’s Health Amendment” (no, it’s not a good thing for women’s health) to a continuing resolution to fund the government, the House GOP targeted a benefit of the Affordable Care Act that is already in effect. Of course, it is one that helps women.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
The amendment was prompted by a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) late last week by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), and signed by 72 members of Congress, which urged the speaker to include in the CR language from a bill being pushed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that would allow a so-called “conscience” exemption for employers from the ACA’s coverage mandate for prescription contraception in plans they offer to employees.
By using the Women’s Health Amendment as the mechanism for delaying the contraception provision, the House bill would also withhold mandated coverage for human papillomavirus (HPV) screenings, domestic violence counseling, breast-feeding counseling and supplies, and narrow the coverage offered for breast and cervical cancer screenings, as well as screening for domestic violence.
This means 72 members of Congress think they can make healthcare decisions for the 155 million women in America. And that limiting access to birth control is a valid bargaining chip in the debate about a government shutdown. The shutdown risks killing the recovery from the recession, not to mention putting thousands of people out of work and stopping important health research.
This is a succinct summary of the situation from Jezebel who shared this prediction from a DC Democrat:
‘Here’s what will happen tomorrow: the government will shut down over free birth control, and people will start signing up for insurance policies that get them free birth control.’ Sexually active women won’t be punished; the people feeling the brunt of the shutdown will be federal employees who won’t be receiving paychecks because Arizona nincompoop Trent Franks thinks keeping you (you = whores) from using your insurance to pay for Plan B is worth keeping federal employees making $35,000 a year from paying their mortgage.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
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Just like the entire strategy that House Speaker Boehner has employed over the last week, the Women’s Health Amendment effort was pointless and misguided. The pro-life caucus in the House is working directly against a bill that keeps women and children healthy. Writing as someone who lost his Congressional seat because of his support of Obamacare, Patrick Murphy says he would do it all over again. He also points out that the ACA has been very pro-life, particularly when you include women’s lives in the calculation:
Access to contraception coverage has already shown results. The CDC recently reported that the teen birth rate has reached a historic low (since the data started being collected in 1940). Because of free contraceptives, abortions have been cut by almost 80% in places like St. Louis. By expanding health care coverage and requiring insurance plans to include prenatal and maternity coverage, mothers and their babies will receive the care they need. Today one in five American women of childbearing age are uninsured and the U.S. has one of the highest infant mortality rates among all industrialized countries.
