The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Applauds Passage of the Mikulski Amendment

Bill Albert
202-478-8510

12/7/2009

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy applauds yesterday's passage of the Mikulski Women's Health Amendment to the Senate health reform bill, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This amendment, offered by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), requires all health plans to cover comprehensive women's preventive health services - with limited or no cost-sharing - as provided by guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. As an organization that focuses on improving child and family well-being by preventing unplanned pregnancy, we are grateful for Senator Mikulski's steadfast commitment to improve the health and financial well-being of families. The amendment passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 61 to 39.

Preventive services and personal responsibility are key elements necessary to reduce health care costs and improve the health of individuals. Ensuring that women have access to low-cost preventive services designed to address their specific health care needs will benefit not only women themselves, but their children, families, and the public and private sector alike. Family planning, i.e. helping women avoid unplanned pregnancy in the first place, is a prime example of a preventive service that has widespread health and economic benefits. Various estimates by the Congressional Budget Office have scored family planning as a savings to the public sector. In addition, estimates by the National Business Group on Health and others have suggested that the savings to employers by offering employees family planning coverage more than covers the minimal cost of offering this benefit. In addition to the cost benefits, helping women and their partners plan for families will stem many of the negative health and economic results of unplanned pregnancy, including late entry into prenatal care, child abuse and neglect, behavioral and cognitive deficits, educational challenges, economic hardship, and relationship and family turmoil.

We are pleased that the Senate has taken this important step to provide affordable and accessible preventive services that are vital to the health of women and their families.

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The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Applauds Passage of the Mikulski Amendment