On August 01, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced guidelines regarding health insurance plans and what was required to be covered for preventative services for women.  We have summarized a recent newsletter post by BLR here and have listed covered services below.  They include:

• Well-woman visits

• Contraception without charging a co-payment, co-insurance, or a deductible

• Screening for gestational diabetes

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing for women 30 years and older

• Sexually-transmitted infection counseling

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) screening and counseling

• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling

• Domestic violence screening and counseling

This is effective for policy plans beginning on or after August 1, 2012.  Continued flexibility is allowed for plans to control costs and promote efficient delivery of care.  This could include cost-sharing for non-generic versions of prescription drugs.  HHS also amended its prevention regulation for religious institutions that offer insurance to their employees.  They may now choose to cover contraception services if they desire. For more information on the HHS guidelines and the expanded preventative services, please visit www.healthcare.gov or contact us at info@StaffScapes.com or www.StaffScapes.