Insurers to bear more costs for contraception coverage

Although the health insurance industry has maintained a relatively low profile regarding the Obama administration's recent amending of its contraception coverage, the industry, in private, is doubtful whether it will bear more costs as a result of the change, reported The Hill's Healthwatch. As it announced that insurers must directly provide contraception coverage for employees of religious-affiliated organizations, the White House claimed insurers wouldn't get hit with additional costs. But insurance companies worry that there's nothing free about preventing unwarranted pregnancies, including costly surgical sterilization procedures and up-front birth control pill costs. Plus, insurers still must pay doctors, drugmakers and pharmacists to prescribe and provide the birth control pill--all of which comes from insurance premiums, not future hypothetical savings. "Saying it's revenue-neutral doesn't mean it's free and that you're not paying for it," an industry source told The Hill. Article