Affordable Care Act Preventive Benefits For Women: 13 Things You Need To Know

I am very glad that today, August 1st is the first day that the Affordable Care Act benefits for women such as no co-pays for birth control and pap smears among many other things begin. I have always paid for birth control, but admit it was a  struggle even with insurance as my co-pay was $40 a month, $30 with a coupon I have had for the last year.  The following is an article I found that lays out exactly what is covered. It mentions that if your plan was not renewed or doesn't begin after 8/1/12 you may not see these benefits for months. Since my plan was renewed like I am sure many others at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1st I wonder when I will see the benefits.

Huffington Post, Posted: 08/01/2012 11:13 am Updated: 08/01/2012 11:27 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/affordable-care-act-no-copay-rule_n_1724167.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009#slide=1312813

In theory, your health comes before everything else, and and there are few things more worth your money than the costs to maintain it. In theory. Before today, nearly half of American women between the ages of 19 and 64 avoided doctor visits and medical services because they didn't want to pay for them, a 2010 Commonwealth Fund survey revealed. However, new measures that come into effect on August 1 under the Affordable Care Act could change that statistic.

While there's still a ways to go before all women have unencumbered access to preventive benefits like contraception, STI testing and breastfeeding support, several important procedures and services are available to many insured women free of charge (that's right -- no copay or cost-sharing) starting today.

Under the new rules, eight services -- identified for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the Institute of Medicine -- join 14 other preventive services for women (such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings) that have been covered under the Affordable Care Act since September, 2010. A report cited by Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a blog for HuffPost this week says the new measure should bring preventive services to 47 million women. Ryan Gosling has yet to comment.