WASHINGTON (AP) – From contraception to colonoscopies, the Obama administration Monday closed a series of insurance loopholes on coverage of preventive care.
The department of Health and Human Services said insurers must cover at least one birth control option under each of 18 methods approved by the FDA – without copays.
Also, insurers can’t charge patients for anesthesia services in connection with colonoscopies to screen for cancer risk.
President Barack Obama’s health care law requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care at no additional charge to patients. The types of services covered generally dovetail with the recommendations of a government advisory panel. Also on the list are birth control pills and other contraceptives.
But independent experts and women’s groups had recently found coverage gaps for some birth control methods. Insurers said they were trying to comply with the law, but that federal rules did not provide enough detail.