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Posted by
Olog-hai
on Sat Mar 8 20:52:03 2014, in response to Universal Health Care is HERE in these USA! Apply Now. www.healthcare.gov, posted by SMAZ on Tue Oct 1 13:19:06 2013.
fiogf49gjkf0d NYDN
Mom must pay up for breast pump despite Obamacare mandateDespite a provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring health insurance plans to cover the lactation device, city employees' grandfathered plans are not buying them.By Corinne Lestch
Saturday, March 8, 2014, 6:30 PMWhen Jessica Steinhart gave birth to her son Lyle in January, she thought the breast pump she needed would be covered by her husband's health insurance.
But her husband is a public school teacher, and city employees’ insurance companies don’t pay for the $300 lactation device despite a new provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires many plans to cover it.
"Why would it be any different for city employees? I'm angry," said Steinhart, 34, of Park Slope. "I can't even secure the tools that I need in order to return to work."
The Obamacare provision covering breast pumps and other preventive-care services kicked in starting Jan. 1, 2013.
The city is not violating the new healthcare law because plans already in effect before Obamacare passed can be exempt from some of the law's regulations.
Aligning to Obamacare’s requirements to cover such services without co-payments — which could cost tens of millions — will be part of negotiations starting this week between the city and unions, officials said.
"We recognize this is an important issue," city spokeswoman Marti Adams said.
"The city is not legally required to cover breast pumps, but once they lose grandfather status, they will be required to provide it," said Anna Benayo, senior health policy analyst at the National Women's Law Center. "It's not about a date and time the plan has to be ungrandfathered. It's more about changes in the plan that trigger whether they lose that status."
Doctors say the breastfeeding tool helps women who can't be with their baby all the time, especially for those who need to return to work quickly.
They also say nursing helps reduce a host of health problems, including respiratory diseases and childhood obesity.
N. Tanya Ohly, an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, argues that moms who can't get breast pumps covered by their insurance are facing a major disadvantage.
"It's already overwhelming to take home a newborn," she said. "And then to sort out the details of your insurance plan and whether you can get a breast pump, it's extremely aggravating."
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