Health Law May End Co-Pay for Birth Control

(Newser) – Insurers may soon have to provide birth control co-pay-free. Under last year’s Affordable Care Act, contraception could be one of several preventive services insurance firms must provide at effectively no cost to patients—but the measure faces opposition from groups like the Family Research Council. Things may become clearer tomorrow, when the independent Institute of Medicine offers its recommendations on the issue, NPR reports.

“Half of all pregnancies that happen in the US every year are unintended," notes a rep for Planned Parenthood. "And if we could prevent an epidemic of this proportion, that should be justification enough that contraception is preventive care." But a Family Research Council spokeswoman says some may object on religious grounds; she also cites a concern that emergency contraception can lead to “the demise of that baby”—a position that Planned Parenthood says is based on “no scientific evidence.” After the IoM gives its recommendations, the decision is up to the government.