Running Head: Womens Healthcare and Birth Control

Community Problem Report: Womens Healthcare and Birth Control

The University Of Texas at El Paso
English 1301
April 4, 2016
Denzel Chukwukelu

Abstract

Introduction
Birth control, also known as family planning or contraception, is a way to prevent pregnancy.
Many women use it for this purpose, but the use of birth control stretches out and helps in other
ways as well, such as with the regulation of abnormalities in womens reproductive systems as
well as an overall regulation of hormones to help control acne and other skin diseases and
disorders. For numerous women, however, despite the fact that birth control can be very useful, it
is difficult to have easy access to it because of that fact that it is expensive and not all insurance
policies cover it. When it comes to people understanding the issue of inaccessible healthcare
services such as birth control, it is important for them to be familiar with specific details behind
the issue. This report will focus on becoming familiar with various healthcare policies, how sex
discrimination affects womens healthcare coverage and the overall importance of women who
need these services to have easy access to them.
Understanding Various Health Care Policies
It appears that each decade, contraceptive coverage changes significantly and mostly for the
better. For example, in the article, U.S. Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives and the Impact
Of Contraceptive Coverage Mandates, 2002, the authors discuss how contraceptive coverage
mandates greatly changed most health insurance coverage between the years 1993 and 2002. The
article states that back in the early 1990s, birth control coverage was relatively low. Furthermore,
it states that researchers conducted a survey from 2001 to 2002 that questioned health care
insurers in regards to particular health insurance policies and their coverage of birth control. This
survey focused on typical employment-based health insurance plans specifically and found

that in 2002, on average, reversible contraceptives were covered by at least 89% of typical plans.
Obviously, this rate is much higher compared to the rate noted in 1993: the rates of 1993 and
2002 were compared as follows: 32%-59% vs.78%-97% (). Moreover we must look at another
decade down the line and see how much coverage women have nowadays: with presidential
candidates competing for the approval of the people, the issue of affordable health care is
definitely in the spot light. For example, on the Planned Parent Hood website, there is a blog
titled, 2016 Election: Top 6 Issues for Womens Health Care and Reproductive Rights, the
author, Mariam Berg, mentions that, To see how much an election can impact birth control
access, just look to the one that elected President Obama: Under Obamacare, more women than
ever before are getting birth control at zero copay, saving them an estimated $1.4 billion on their
out-of-pocket costs for the pill in 2013 alone. (Berg, 2015). This is a perfect example of how
much health care has advanced throughout the years for the better. On the other hand, the serious
issue at the moment is the fact that the same presidential candidates who supported the Supreme
Courts Hobby Lobby act, (act that allows certain employers the right to deny birth control
coverage to their employees, mostly because of religious beliefs), also want to completely do
away with the entire Affordable Care Act (A.K.A. ObamaCare), including its no-copay birth
control coverage (Berg 2015). Furthermore the author stated that if these candidates make it into
office, they will, continue to chip away at access to affordable health care. and would put
health care at risk for millions of people who rely on the lifesaving reproductive health care they
get at Planned Parenthood like cancer screenings, STI testing, and birth control. Therefore, it
is important to understand that the United States Government has made tremendous
improvements in these past decades health care wise, making sure that women are getting
appropriate and affordable coverage. In addition, people must keep in mind that whoever steps

into office next year will determine whether Americas health care coverage will continue
improving and helping society or take steps back and can negatively affects those in need.
Gender Discrimination in Health Care Policies
In regards to government deciding who gets coverage, it should be noted that there has
been obvious prejudice amid the decision. Throughout the years there have been many questions
regarding sex discrimination within health care policies. As stated in the previous paragraph,
there was a ruling in the Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that stated that religious
business owners had the right to deny contraceptive coverage for their employees because of
their religious beliefs, which are to not engage in premarital sex. Yet, in the article, The Hobby
Lobby Mess: 3 Quick Facts You Need to Know, found on forbes.com, it states that despite the
supreme court ruling, Hobby Lobby still provides benefits to employees who need erectile
dysfunction treatments, Viagra and vasectomies. This describes a situation in which sex
discrimination is very apparent. There are many other examples of the injustice of this issue. For
example, in the article, Quest for Equality: Comprehensive Insurance Coverage of Prescription
Contraceptives found in the Boston University Law review, the author discusses how many women pay
out of pocket money for contraceptives because most insurances do not cover it. Once again, this is
mainly because of religious matters, according to Ross. Moreover, the author investigates whether this
justification is truly a religious matter and once again, like other articles, brings to light the obvious sex
discrimination present in these policies. What activist groups want to do is create a law that is called
EPICC that makes insurance companies cover womens contraceptive expenses. This was written in
2002 but the issue remains controversial today. Due to the fact that many women are still paying

out of pocket money for many of their much needed health care services, it becomes more
stressful and difficult for these women to even obtain proper help.

The Importance of Women Receiving Affordable Coverage

Not only does birth control help prevent unplanned pregnancies, but it also helps both
men and women to stay healthy in several other ways. For example, in the article Contraception
and Beyond: The Health Benefits of Services Provided at Family Planning Centers, by Megan
L. Kavanaugh, the author discusses how family planning services provide a wide variety of
services that greatly benefit peoples health. The article goes into detail and discusses how
centers such as Planned Parenthood provide services such as client counseling and education,
affordable health screenings and family planning programs that help patients access the
contraceptives that they need. As mentioned earlier, contraceptives are beneficial in the sense
that besides preventing pregnancies, they help reduce abortion, and they help to prevent
numerous sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Furthermore, the author notes that some
of the key findings of her research show that, Delaying pregnancy until after the adolescent
years may be associated with reductions in the numbers of babies born premature or lowbirthweight. and that, Children born as a result of a planned pregnancy may have improved
physical health and experience less child abuse compared with those born as a result of an
unintended pregnancy. One can see that it is important to womens overall wellbeing to be
protected by the necessary health care services. In order to obtain these services, women need to
have easier access to health care coverage. The image below describes the series of benefits that
women can get from using family planning:

Source: Bongaarts, John. (2012). Family Planning: A Key to Prosperity retrieved from
https://rewire.news/article/2012/06/25/family-planning-key-to-prosperity/
Conclusion
To conclude, after analyzing the research conducted on this important issue, it can be perceived
that the appropriate coverage of contraceptives for women is tremendously essential. Secondly,
the country throughout the years has been making significant progress for womens rights in
regards to their health care coverage. However, if the wrong presidential candidate is elected,
they could potentially reverse this progress. In addition, women not having the proper health care
resources is still partially because they experience sex discrimination within their health
insurance policies. Also, making sure that women have the proper health care treatments

available is greatly important because of the fact that it helps women overall to take care of their
well-being. Understanding the problems that women face when it comes to receiving help is
incredibly crucial in the society; we must know about these problems that people in our families
and communities are facing, and know how to solve them.

References
Bongaarts, John. (2012). Family Planning: A Key to Prosperity retrieved from
https://rewire.news/article/2012/06/25/family-planning-key-to-prosperity/
Darroch, J, Frost, J,Gold, R, Sonfield, A., U.S. Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives and the
Impact Of Contraceptive Coverage Mandates, 2002. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive
Health., Vol 36. P.2., Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Retrieved from:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931 2393.2004.tb00011.x/abstract
. Hayden, L. (1998-1999). Gender Discrimination within the Reproductive Health Care System:
Viagara v. Birth Control. Journal of Law and Health 13(2), 171-198.
. Roos, B. (2002). Quest for Equality: Comprehensive Insurance Coverage of Prescription
Contraceptives, The. Boston University Law Review 82(5), 1289-1317.
Berg, M. (2015). 2016 Election: Top 6 Issues for Womens Health Care and Reproductive
Rights. retrieved from: http://plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/2016-election-top-6-issueswomens-health-care-and-reproductive-rights