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Affordable health care finally in the right hands .. The women in our loves.

http://www.redeyechicago.com/news/ct-red-0803-affordable-care-act-20120802,0,3599830.story

Healthy women, healthy country
By Dana Moran, RedEye
12:59 p.m. CDT, August 2, 2012


Male condoms are 82 percent effective in preventing pregnancy based on typical use, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The birth control pill is 91 percent effective. And intrauterine devices, or IUDs, are more than 99 percent effective. So it made sense during a recent visit to my gynecologist to ask her whether that birth control method was right for me. I got the green light, and was all set to make an appointment to get one.

Then I checked my insurance.

While the device's website explained that many women are covered, I apparently wasn't one of them. And the actual retail price-not including the $350 my doctor would charge for insertion-is $843.60. For the arithmetic-shy, that's a grand total of $1,193.60. In related math, Planned Parenthood reports the average abortion costs $300-$950, in some cases nearly a quarter the price.

Something about this doesn't add up.

Fortunately, things have just changed for the women of America. Starting Wednesday, almost every new insurance plan was required to cover doctor-prescribed contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act. In other words, when my insurance is renewed in January, that $843.60 will shrink to $0.

The new provisions also provide for women in seven other areas of our health care needs, including things men never even have to think about, such as gestational diabetes screening and breast-feeding support. OK, that's not entirely accurate-they think about the breast part.

But if you're a guy, this issue affects you in ways greater than boobs and having to listen to chicks talk about their lady parts. Your girlfriend pays for those birth control pills. Your female friend may become the victim of domestic violence and need counseling. Your mom might not be able to afford visits to her gynecologist someday. Everywhere you look, your life is full of women, some even more important to you than other dudes.

That's what these provisions, and the rest of the Affordable Care Act, are all about. Heath care has to be a political issue, but it's really about taking care of the people you love.

There's been plenty of talk in the political realm about women and their health care rights lately, but there's also been some talk about not talking about vaginas. A female Michigan lawmaker was barred from speaking in the House after saying "vagina" during a June anti-abortion bill debate. Apparently some men are afraid to talk about vaginas, even though they themselves presumably came from one.

But talking about vaginas-as well as the health care needs of all Americans-is exactly what needs to be happening. For example, before you started reading this column, I'll bet you didn't know how expensive IUDs are, or how exceptionally effective they are when compared with other popular birth control methods.

Sometimes it's embarrassing to talk about your body and the strange stuff it does, but if you do, you'll find plenty of other people deal with the same things. The more we talk, the more we can relate-and the more we care about what happens to each other.

(I'm also still trying to figure out a way these new health care provisions translate to all condoms being free. Hey, we can dream, right?)

damoran@tribune.com | @redeyedana