Oregon appears set to join California, Washington, and Montana in requiring that insurance plans cover prescription contraceptives. The Oregonian reports.
The state senate approved the contraceptive coverage bill yesterday, following the state house’s earlier approval. The governor has said he’ll sign it.
The result will be to add another large group of Cascadian women to the ranks of those for whom sticker price won’t be a deciding factor in choosing the best form of contraception.
The law applies to health insurance plans that provide prescription drug coverage, requiring that such plans include prescription contraceptives such as the pill.
Laws like this one reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, because they enable more couples to use the most effective forms of contraception. That means, more children are born wanted.
pricetags
Some relevant news in the Vancouver Sun today:Teen pregnancies at all-time low in CanadaAllison HanesCanWest News ServiceThursday, May 17, 2007TORONTO—The rate of teen pregnancies in Canada has hit an all-time low and has fallen more dramatically than in the United States and England over the last three decades, says new research published Wednesday.The findings suggest young women are better informed and have greater access to contraception than ever before, said Alex McKay, author of the study published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. The falling teen pregnancy rate has been accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the rate of abortions, especially since 1994.The decline comes despite studies showing that the average age at which Canadian teens have their a first sexual encounter is holding steady at 16.5 years old for both boys and girls.Since 1974, when Statistics Canada first started collecting such data, the teen pregnancy rate has declined from 53.9 per 1,000 population ages 15 to 19, to 32.1 in 2003. Six provinces had rates lower than the national average, with Prince Edward Island being the lowest at 23.4 per 1,000. The Prairie provinces, Quebec and the three territories had higher rates, with Nunavut’s being five times above the national average.Canada’s teen pregnancy rate, however, remains half that of the U.S. as well as England and Wales, though rates in those countries have also been on the wane.
Alan Durning
And BC’s teen pregnancy rate is setting a new record every year. It’s now down to 10.1 births per 1,000 teenage women, less than one third the rate in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho—all of which are also at or near record lows.
Marlowe
It’s way beyond time for this, I’m so grateful. Now if we can just get all women (and men) insured in the state!