Finally -- preventative care for women!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with identifying critical gaps in preventive services for women and recommending measures that will ensure women's health and well-being. Basically the government asked them to decide which women's preventative health services they should require insurance plans to cover under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The results of that report should for all intents and purposes be a non-issue -- an incontestable and universally lauded revelation in American health care history. Seriously, who could argue with coverage for PREVENTATIVE medicine? Apparently, lots of people (mostly hyper-conservative people, and even some WOMEN!)

The ACA requires plans to cover (at no cost to patients) the services on the HHS's comprehensive list of preventive services. The IOM report -- released July 18 -- recommends eight preventive health services for women be added to that list:

· screening for gestational diabetes

· human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30

· counseling on sexually transmitted infections

· counseling and screening for HIV

· contraceptive methods and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies

· lactation counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding

· screening and counseling to detect and prevent interpersonal and domestic violence

· yearly well-woman preventive care visits to obtain recommended preventive services

The recommendations were based on existing guidelines and an assessment of the effectiveness of services. The committee identified diseases/conditions more common or serious in women, or for which women experience different outcomes or benefit from different interventions.

The press release also notes: "Although lactation counseling is already part of the HHS guidelines, the report recommends comprehensive support that includes coverage of breast pump rental fees as well as counseling by trained providers to help women initiate and continue breast-feeding. Evidence links breast-feeding to lower risk for breast and ovarian cancers; it also reduces children's risk for sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, gastrointestinal infections, respiratory diseases, leukemia, ear infections, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes.

To reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, which accounted for almost half of pregnancies in the U.S. in 2001, the report urges that HHS consider adding the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive methods as well as patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity. Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy also increases the risk of babies being born preterm or at a low birth weight, both of which raise their chances of health and developmental problems.

The report addresses concerns that the current guidelines on preventive services contain gaps when it comes to women's needs. Women suffer disproportionate rates of chronic disease and disability from some conditions. Because they need to use more preventive care than men on average due to reproductive and gender-specific conditions, they face higher out-of-pocket costs, the report notes."