Bill calls for insurance-backed birth control

Insanity.
Where are the chants of “Keep your laws off my body!!!”?

THIS is one of the main reasons why health insurance costs are rising. Government mandates on the private contracts between private parties.

You gotta love Liz Ratzloff, though:
“Birth control can be as much as $65 to $75 a month, and what college woman can afford that?”

Sure. Don’t let your inability to afford birth control, a child, or your resulting abortion to get in the way of a good time. Somebody’s got to pay, and Liz wants to spread the costs of HER birth control to the rest of us.

Hey, Liz.
Where’s the “choice” in that?

Calm down Bob. Some evils are necessarily. This particular evil I can defiantly live with. This can only increase you chance of getting yourself laid Bob, after that you might calm down a second and think like a Human.

You’re right.
Liz Ratzloff sounds like she might give it away. After all, she’s gonna stock up her sock drawer with tons of free birth control.

Isn’t it amazing how many “evils” you can live with? Especially when they’re paid for by OTHER PEOPLE.

Oh Bob, that’s just silly.

Birth control, not only helps with pregnancy prevention, but a variety of other services such as protecting against:

As a college female who was off birth control for 6 months because it was too expensive, and forming an ovarian cyst during that time that cost $10,000 to remove, I don’t know I guess it would of helped for birth control to be cheaper.

First off Bob is probably just bitter because nobody has ever “Given it away” to him.

Second of all, I’m going to go ahead and assume your solution to the problem would be abstinence, something you’re clearly familiar with. Birth control is an essential measure for a majority of women in the world because it is easy and effective.

Without birth control, more people would be getting abortions and nobody wants that.

is not the exception Bob, it’s the rule. Are you used to women who sell it??

Bob, did you actually read the article or did you get so worked up at the thought of someone actually “giving it away” that you just had to get your filthy hands on the keyboard? You’re a pig.

The package was intended to really put forth common sense prevention measures so we could improve women’s health and prevent unintended pregnancies,”

Insurance companies can for sure absorb the inexpensive cost of montly birth control for their subscribers. And lets be honest, they will help absorb the cost by increasing the premiums of said subscribers.

Nevermind the fact that many women take birth control pills for reasons other than birth control. Serious menstrual symptoms like excessive bleeding and incapacitating pain can be helped by birth control. Abstinence isn’t going to fix those problems!

What do you mean Other people? I pay taxes same as everyone (including the people in the article)

Bob is a close minded fool. I get grossed out everytime he uses names like he knows people, like when he says “Liz Ratzloff”
Bob get a vagina, then tell me what’s good.

yeah. spartans rock. get sum.

Only an idiot would talk about taxes when these bills are designed to force insurance companies to foot the bill (and pass it along to its customers). This has NOTHING to do with taxes, but you claim that I haven’t read the article. Brilliant.

Again, it’s mandated coverage like this that increases insurance costs. And the only argument you offer is, “I want it, give it to me!”

“Insurance companies can for sure absorb the inexpensive cost of montly birth control for their subscribers.”

Pure stupidity.
Wasn’t Liz complaining that these costs were too high?

Have you even looked at me My Link BOB? I’m a grown man, married with kid, and I own a business. The only mommy and daddy here are me and my wife. I HAVE health insurance, its Blue Cross Blue shield. Bob, we are talking about American girls who cant afford BC. We are not talking about giving BC away to people in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are talking about making health insurers cover birth control. Something they should be doing anyway, but dont to increase there profit margins. Still if that doesn’t sway you, we can meet up somewhere for a high school style fist fight. (After all I am stupid and you can prolly handle me, right?) And we can settle this like Men, what do ya say.

Bob,
What makes you think that insurance companies should cover other prescriptions, but not birth control? We’re not talking about giving things away for free. We are saying that insured women should receive the same coverage as insured men. Do you think that insurance companies should not cover other prescriptions, simply because it would be cheaper?

You don’t seem too concerned about paying for other men’s Viagra prescriptions… Why is that, Bob?

And here come the internet tough guys.
Didn’t even post a name.

Equal Coverage,
I DON’T think insurance companies should be forced to cover ANY prescriptions. That should be up the the insurance provider and the plan. People already have choices among the types of policies/plans they purchase – high/low deductibles, maximum coverage limits, etc.

Each of those CHOICES is designed to let the consumer review and choose the plan that’s best for them.

Bob these women NEED this, its not a supplement, like you seem to think it is

I’m not an internet tough guy, I’ll post my name…I don’t see how “Bob” is really going into detail but ok.

PLEASE! find me, search me out and we can do something about this if you feel it is necessary.

You’re a disgrace.

Great.
Now we’re in the business of determining “need”.

I need food. You gonna buy that for me?
How about some gas money and some cash for whisky?

My own wife takes birth control pills to prevent ovarian cysts (isn’t working). I paid over $6,000 out of pocket last year for my wife’s prescriptions and uncovered procedures.

And yet, you don’t see me clamoring for government intervention or another program.

Bob,
This has nothing to do with the government covering expenses. I pay $3600 a year for health insurance for my husband and I, we both go for our yearly recommended check ups and RARELY ever go to the doctor at any other time. The price of birth control for me with insurance is $60 I can get the same prescription without insurance for $65. So assuming two doctors visits at $100 and birth control.

Bob, your all alone here. Your brutally wrong, and you cant seem to see logic. Your point may be valid, but you are fighting the wrong battle for that point. Its a Need, and if you can’t see logic, I can go back to the point about a fist fight. If I cant use reason on you, then maybe alittle discipline will show you the proper respect for womens health. Give up Bob, go away and re-think your ideals and battles. Maybe next time you can pick a fight you can win.

Listen. I actually dont think this proposal is a bad idea. That being said, you’re all missing Bob’s argument entirely.

Bob isn’t saying it should or should not be covered, he’s saying the Government shouldn’t be able to FORCE individual companies to provide it. There are choices in insurance companies and if you dont like the one you have because they dont cover this than go find one that does.

Marie,
I never said it was about government picking up the tab. That was another poster who didn’t bother to read the article.

This is about government forcing insurance companies (a private entity) to cover specific things in private contracts.

Insurance companies are particularly good at math. They know exactly what brings in revenue and what generates expenses.

Remember what are talking about here. These girls need this covered, it should be covered. There is no reason other than greed to deny them. Greed is a crappy reason when it comes to health. End of story end of agrument. If they won’t do the right thing and cover it voluntarily, then yes by all means lets use this tool( government) to get them to behave. Ben Campbell

I would be in favor of a law to make it mandatory that all health insurance providers be non-profit in the state of Michigan. Its not as crazy as it sounds (unless your a shareholder) several states that law and it works out nicely.

Ben,
Your posts get crazier with each passing minute. Do you start drinking this early in the day? Surly drunks make bad advocates.

“Need”, and now “greed”.

You cannot define either of these, yet you throw them around as if they’re show-stoppers. You know you’ve lost when all you can say is “end of argument”.

Then, you jump to the inane argument that profit is the problem here.

What are you Bob? I provide a service at a reasonable price. Do you have employees? Hows there health insurance ( or is that something you have no clue about) What do you do for a living? How nice of a person are you, really? Profiting off of human suffering is messed up. To deny coverage of people, who are already paying in, for preventive care drugs is only contributing to there inevitable suffering. You/We are getting way off topic. I apologize for my sloppy posting today. I have to work for a living, so when I try to do to many things at once I end up doing something halfassed.

Ben,
I’m a senior systems analyst at a $1 billion automotive supply company.
The only major US automotive supplier to make a PROFIT last year.
I’m also on the resource team that evaluates and selects our corporate health plan.
A plan that covers over 3,000 people.

Profiting “off of human suffering” is about the least accurate way to describe it.
When you go to your family physician, do you tell him this?
When you pick up a prescription at the pharmacy, do you attack the pharmacist?
How about your insurance agent?

You ask if I have “no clue’ about health insurance, and I’ve clearly demonstrated I have.
You, however, bring up the vague notions of “need” and “greed” without forethought or even an attempt to explain yourself.

If people are “already paying in”, and their policies cover these drugs, FINE.
If their policy doesn’t cover these drugs, they should work with their agent or company to get the plans altered.
Premiums, deductibles and co-pays might rise, but that’s the individuals or company’s choice.
No need to run out and get a government bureaucrat involved and muck up the entire works.

Ben,
I’m also a veteran.
I’ve seen first-hand what happens when you eliminate the “profit” from any venture, particularly health care.
It’s called the VA.

Bob, if you need a definition of Need and greed there is always Google. Dont ask strangers to define simple everyday words. Seriously, I would have to write a PAGE in response to your letter. You take one thought and run with it, forgetting moderation. I don’t know much about the VA, but I would just venture a guess and say its better than staying at home and praying that you get better.

After reading up on the black mold problem, I retract my previous statement. I’d prefer a Redi-care clinic to that. That’s an issue that needs to be fixed, NOW. But its not the issue Here.

The reason for these new bills are clear:
Insurance companies have historically failed to provide women with equal coverage, at the same time charging women more for health insurance than men.

These bills are an attempt to prevent insurance companies from continuing that discriminatory practice.

Bob, why can’t you see that? Don’t you support equality for women? It sounds like you don’t.

I stand with all the other arguments given above as to why you’re wrong, Bob.
These are all valid & logical reasons these bills must be supported.

(The article failed to mention Rep. Rebekah Warren, who was just as instrumental as Meadows in introducing these bills.)

Pregnancy is not a disease to be prevented. It is actually a healthful event for a woman.
Birth control works against a woman’s body (puts an otherwise healthy woman in a state of disease) in stymieing pregnancy, (pregnancy can still occur though). BC, like the Pill and morning after pill can cause death by stroke, blood clots,increases breast cancer risk and also OVARIAN CYSTS. Go to a knowledgeable nutritionist/chiropractor instead and be chaste according to your state of life instead.The hormones in BC are polluting the water and causing malformations of fish in lakes and rivers across the world.

I’m not sure where you got all that, but I can sure guess.

Sounds like you just want to shame, subjugate, & control women. NOT gonna happen!
Misogynistic much?

That was in response to comment by LBJ.

Ben,
I could ask ten different people to define greed, and to give an example, and no two answers would be the same. I’ve seen people use “greed” to describe a person’s desire to improve their lot by the most incremental of measures, as well as those who seek to dominate their market. The fact is that people are envious and anybody who owns more or who aspires to more is labeled “greedy” with contempt.

Bob you are a waste of time. maybe you should move down south were there are more people who think like you. I would recommend Texas.

I don’t understand why an insurance company wouldn’t want to cover birth control…it is way cheaper for them to prevent a birth with birth control than to have to financially cover a birth….9 months of doctors apts, prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds, and then the birth itself costing around $10k for a normal birth, or more than $20K if it is a c-section. and this assumes that everything goes OK with the baby…if it is born premature, or has something wrong, being at the neonatal intensive care will cost tens of THOUSANDS.

Ben,
All of my eloquent and informational writings and that’s all I get?
A simplistic dismissal?
Really?

Sir, your rejoinder has shaken my beliefs to their very foundations.
I must retreat and reconsider my life.
I hear Texas is nice.

Captain Obvious,
Maybe you’re right.
Maybe there is something wrong if an insurance company doesn’t want to provide birth control? However, I definitely know that there’s something wrong with my neighbor’s selection of the color of paint for his home. Should I get the government involved?

The fact is, again, that insurance companies make calculated decisions.

Bob, I have to say, I am in total agreement with you here. Medical necessity is one thing, but I doubt that Ms. Ratzloff and “Student for Choice” are taking oral contraceptives for medical necessity. I also don’t hear anyone crying for insurance coverage for condoms. Why not? Is it because only women can take oral contraceptives and this is a power grab by those who (absurdly) claim that women do not get the same quality of medical care as men?

Regarding the relation of birth control with Viagra, people need to realize that Viagra treats a medically identified DISEASE. Being fertile is not a medical disease, and “treating” it with hormones should not be the expense of the taxpayer.

Insurance companies don’t want to cover birth control because then they couldn’t charge extra for the “rider” pregnancy coverage that the normal plan doesn’t cover much of anyways. Bob says that if the people demand it then the insurance companies will provide it, I completely disagree. Insurance companies make decisions based on money, not consumer wants. They know that there is little competition and within that competition there is litte difference in plans.

Scott,
Why shouldn’t ANY company (or individual) make marketing, service and financial decisions that are best for them? When enough people asked for a cobalt blue two-tone option from GM, they provided it because it made financial sense to give the customers what they wanted.

There are over 1400 separate health insurance plans in the United States.

Maxbob – I agree with you, I do think the government needs to back off, most times when they get involved, they make a bigger mess of things….look at how they got into corn and ethanol, and then were shocked when the prices of groceries went up. I was jsut saying from a $$ standpoint, it doesn’t make sense that insurance wouldn’t cover birth control, it would be cheaper for them in the long run.

and the other thing I will say about birth control/viagra….is I am sorry, having a flacid penis isn’t a disease.

Yes Bob that all you get, its more than your worth. You say alot but in the end, you want to let insurance companies scam women out of pay for there prescriptions. It all boils down to that.

Ben,
You really should try to make a point when you speak. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener.

You seem to hate insurance companies. Have you dropped your policy and stopped dealing with them, yet?

I didn’t think so. Man up and stand by your principles.

They provide a service and they turn a profit. Some people just let their envy get the best of them.

Bob, go re-enlist, that way you can be worth something to someone. Not anyone here, but someone will find a use for you. Type some more, run away from the fact that you don’t want to help other americans who are getting taken advantage of, by any means necessarily.

Captain Obvious-Thank you for cutting through the BS and getting to the point. Bob-It’s a shame that you spend so much energy in anger. Your hostile attacks at Liz and Ben are ugly and unnecessary. I agree that we need to keep gov’t out of our lives as much as possible. But there is a point in time when it’s appropriate for gov’t to step in. That’s why we have legislators. LBJ-Using the bible to attempt to make a scientific arguement doesn’t work…in fact, it sounds crazy.

“and the other thing I will say about birth control/viagra….is I am sorry, having a flacid penis isn’t a disease. disease are things you can die from.”

You clearly are neither a doctor nor a medical professional. Erectile disfunction is a cardiovascular disease recognized by the AMA. Kindly pull your cranium from your rectum and use your eyes for some reading before you post inane babble.

As for the second claim, I guess we should just leave anyone with sinus infection to suffer for weeks. By your reasoning, since they are unlikely to die from a sinus infection, we shouldn’t cover their antibiotics and let them suffer for weeks instead of giving them the care they need.

Zeke – I think you are being extreme, you need to get the gist of what I was trying to say, not take every single thing I say verbatum and then start name calling….if ED is a cardiovascualr thing, then I am sure there are heart meds they should take. ED is usually the side effect, they dont need an erection to save their lives from a cardio disease.

and of course if someone has a sinus infection, they should take medicine for it. My only point is a lot of times when the govt intervenes, it ends up being more expensive for us because they don’t do their research.

“Zeke – I think you are being extreme, you need to get the gist of what I was trying to say, not take every single thing I say verbatum and then start name calling”

Really? What you said was this:

“having a flacid penis isn’t a disease.”

How did I miss the “gist” of what you’re trying to say here? You left no gray area; you declared that with your own analytical skills and years of medical experience that ED is NOT a disease.

Zeke, you do make some good points, but you get so angry and defensive, that your point gets lost. People can have differing opinions, and that doesn’t mean anyones cranium is up their rear ends.

I don’t think you can argue with the fact that my initial point, which was that it would be cheaper for insurance companies to cover birth control than to cover the cost of births, many of which cost over $10K each.

One more thing Zeke….Most people think nothing of having a $500/month car payment (gotta have that brand new car!), but then scoff at the fact they have to pay $30 for a prescription, whethers its ED meds, or birth control, or whatever! It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

“I don’t think you can argue with the fact that my initial point, which was that it would be cheaper for insurance companies to cover birth control than to cover the cost of births, many of which cost over $10K each.”

No one argues that that it’s cheaper to swallow a bill than to bring a baby into the world. But you know what’s even cheaper than that? A 75-cent condom.

Bob,
After reading through your posts I do agree with your original point that the government should not be involved. Its just incredibly frustrating as the “little guy” fighting with the insurance company and it seems that the government may be the only way a change occurs.

Zeke,
Your missing the point. We are talking about people who are paying thousands of dollars a year for coverage that is crap because they have no other choice, not people sucking off the government looking for hand outs.

“Your missing the point. We are talking about people who are paying thousands of dollars a year for coverage that is crap because they have no other choice, not people sucking off the government looking for hand outs.”

No, that is NOT the case. The bill talked about here says nothing about quality or cost of health care. It is requiring insurance companies to cover birth control whether they want to or not.

Ben,
It’s obvious that your mind isn’t really into this. Your heart may be, but you haven’t provided a single credible argument to support your position. If I want to help other Americans, I help them. Me. Myself. With MY money, not the money of others. That’s the difference. There’s always a segment that wants to “help other americans” by screwing over other Americans.

Zeke,
You still missing the point. This article is talking about providing birth control through insurance companies. NOT the government funding birth control for everyone.

“Currently, you can choose your coverage for many options in your health plan. Want cheaper meds? You can pay a higher premium. Want a lower deductible? You can pay a higher premium for that too.

Marie,
Any distinction between government-provided and government-mandated birth control is moot in this argument. In both cases, its the government forcing its will upon individuals and private entities. In either case, the cost is extracted from the populace at large, without concern or consent (or the right to do so).

If your plan offered this benefit, the bill would not be pointless, as there would always be another plan that did not offer that benefit.

Maximum Bob,

You really have a full time job, yet have time to argue with students and others about this topic multiple times a day? No ones opinion is going to change. Get a hobby or something please

Can we all agree that people that can’t afford a $0.75 condom, or $30/month birth control probably shouldn’t be having sex period?

Zeke – your last comment I 100% agree with.

Here is the thing most people don’t get, everyone claims they get it but don’t……if you want something, you will eventually have to pay for it, not everything can be free…when the government makes an insurance company pay for something, or they do cash for clunkers, or whatever program (all programs for people who usually can’t afford things because they can’t budget (yes there are exceptions, but those are few and far between)))….it is covered by tax dollars….who are paid by……(gasp) all of us (or should I say, people who actually WORK and pay taxes)….or it is eventually passed on to us by higher insurance rates.

The other point I forgot to make…is that I don’t think insurance companies should be mandated to cover birth control, but it fiscally does make sense for them to do so. If a company wants to remain competitive, they will have to give people what they want, and figure out a way to make things affordable….that is capitalism at its finest.

Well done, Marissa!
You’ve added NOTHING to this conversation, yet berate others for trying to move the argument along.

Bravo. Good luck with that “Women’s Studies” major.

Bob, that wasn’t berating on Marissa’s part. She’s done much more for this conversation, considering she WROTE the damn article. You were not “moving the conversation along” by making inappropriate assumptions about the female President of a Registered Student Organization. I sure hope you don’t have any daughters or nieces, who are involved enough in their community to be quoted in a paper.

What’s laughable about this whole debate is that a guy who obviously has a much firmer grasp on the constitution than the rest of you idiots, is getting utterly lambasted like he’s some sort of greed driven traitor. Right, or wrong, the fact of the matter is, the government has and continues to invent legislation that dictates laws and regulations outside of the powers granted to it in the U.S.

Fantastic!
The chauvinism epithet arrived long ago, but now the race card makes an appearance.

I’m only disappointed that it took so long.

Morans…while you made some good points, were you trying to spell the word “Moron”? Please advise if you are a MORON.

‘Moran’ is a sarcastic version of ‘moron’ used on message boards everywhere. Now you know.

Anyway, so I had this debate with my girlfriend and she said I was influencing her to become more patriotic and pretty soon she was going to wear an Uncle Sam hat and go around punching hippies.

I told her how hot that would be and that it would make me want to get it on right there and then…and then she reminded me that because she now shard my viewpoint and that it would be unpatriotic to support such a bill on birth control that we wouldn’t be having anymore sex…

I now am unequivocally throwing my support behind this bill.