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Wolf seeks Pa. birth control insurance mandate
Governor notes that Medicaid programs still offer coverage for some
Roger DuPuis//October 9, 2017//
Wolf seeks Pa. birth control insurance mandate
Governor notes that Medicaid programs still offer coverage for some
Roger DuPuis//October 9, 2017//
Listen to this articleWolf on Monday called on the state legislature to pass legislation requiring employers to cover contraceptives at no cost to consumers “as a preventive service,” a statement from the governor’s office said.
Under an Affordable Care Act mandate implemented under the Obama administration, all employers had been required to include birth control as part of insurance coverage.
Following a pledge made earlier this year by Trump, several federal departments announced last week that they were implementing two rules giving companies an exception from the mandate if they have “sincerely held religious beliefs against providing such services,” or “moral conviction which is not based in any particular religious belief.”
“This decision by the Trump administration to take women’s birth control decisions out of their hands and put them into the hands of their employers is wrong,” Wolf said.
The state will continue to provide family planning services, including birth control coverage, as required under Medicaid, Wolf’s office said.
Since July 2015, Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services also has offered family planning services to men and women of any age, even if they are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid, if their income is at or below 215 percent of the federal poverty limit and they are not pregnant. The services are free or low-cost.
Individuals who may lose commercial coverage of family planning services through the Trump Administration’s changes may be eligible for these services under Medicaid, the governor’s office said.
The state Insurance Department estimates that more than 2.5 million women in Pennsylvania benefit from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.
The Pennsylvania Employee Benefits Trust Fund, which administers health benefits for state employees, will also continue to offer birth control without a co-pay, officials said.
“Having Medicaid coverage as a possible parachute for some who may lose coverage is good, but we need to ensure no one who has coverage now loses it,” Wolf said. “That’s why I urge the legislature to introduce legislation that will maintain this vital preventive service for all Pennsylvanians.”
