Birth Control should be FREE, or at least insanely cheap. Why does Blue Cross Blue Shield charge policy holders $50 a month for the Ortho Evra patch?
$600 a year for a patch that increases compliance significantly compared to having to take a pill every day? That's absurd, and that's WITH insurance. Even $30 a month is absurd in this economy (and yes, the patch is also more effective at preventing pregnancy than less expensive condoms, unless the woman weighs more than 198 pounds). But yes, STD's may still be a concern of course.
At any rate, the same conservatives who rail about "deadbeats on government programs" with their tax dollars also bitch about having to pay for birth control. Those idiots don't see the connection between unwanted pregnancy (which is generally terrible for the parents, the kid(s) and society) and spending even MORE tax money in the long run.
Never mind the fact that good birth control is the best way to reduce the number of abortions. It's the most obvious win-win in the world. And no, kids won't start fucking like rabbits just because birth control is available. They're ALREADY fucking like rabbits without birth control.
Health Insurance has no reason to promote the patch/the pill. It only prevents you from getting preggers, not from getting a STD.
If you get preggers then sure they will have to pay some $$ for the birth, but after that you have to start paying premiums for the child and its mo money for the HMO.
If however you get an STD then the insurance company is on the hook for the bills to treat it and there is no upside for the insurance company.
So I can see how they would want to discourage women from using a form of birth control that is bad for the insurance company from a financial point of view.
HMOs don't exist to do what is best for their policy holder, they exist to do what is best for their shareholder.
That's fine for making shoes and TV's and whatever, but when it comes to defense (police and fire departments and military) and heath, it's a huge fundamental issue.
That's also partly why I'm not comfortable with military contractors in Iraq. There are some areas where privitization works very well, but this isn't one of them.
"No, you are a paid blogger assigned to counter anyone that posts something negative about the government or Obama." by Mcamelyne II on 05/17/2011
People assume health insurance companies love preventative care because it will reduce costs in the long run. Except that any given (private) health insurance provider knows you aren't likely to be with them for your entire life.
This is especially true these days where people increasingly have several job changes. The insurance company doesn't see the point in spending money to reduce costs on people that are unlikely to be their customers in 10 years (or whatever).
