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Texas Cuts Planned Parenthood from Women's Health Program
Today Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs signed off on a controversial new rule designed to exclude Planned Parenthood from participation in the Women’s Health Program – and in so doing has likely killed the successful program. The WHP is a Medicaid-waiver program that provides basic healthcare and family planning services to low-income and uninsured women who would not otherwise be eligible for Medicaid unless pregnant. The program was designed to increase access to preventative health for women and to reduce the number of Medicaid-paid births. It has done both.
This is no small issue for Texas, where more than half of all births are paid for by Medicaid – in 2009 alone that cost $2.9 billion. The first year of the program, in 2007, the WHP served 91,683 women; by 2010, the program served 183,537. HHSC estimates that the number of women served in 2011 (those final numbers aren’t ready yet) will show the program grew again.
And although there are some 1,600 WHP providers across the state, in 2010, PP served 46% of all WHP clients – that is, more than 84,000 women.
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Keep your Boehner out of my Uterus!: If you are on Twitter, let's make some noise to get some national media on Texas
I love Tumblr but I just don’t know how to use it mobilize.
But I know Twitter.
And so I’m starting there.
If you are on Twitter and you’d like to see more national media coverage about what is going on in Texas, let’s let the right people know:
@upwithchris (hashtag #uppers)
(Source: keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)
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I get such a chuckle when these things come out. Here we have millions of our fellow Americans unemployed, we have jihadist camps being set up in Central, in, uh, Latin America, which, uh, Rick has been warning about, and people seem to be so preoccupied with sex. So I think it says something about our culture—we maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are. And this contraceptive thing—my gosh, it’s so, it’s such inexpensive—you know, back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.
Watched this during my lunch break and my head almost exploded. This about more than sex.
We need massive therapy from all the sex we’re having. And you don’t need birth control, ladies, just grab some asprin.
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“As the father of two daughters,” Obama told reporters, “I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.”
First of all, the president was not talking about “various rules.” He was supporting a very specific rule, one that prevents young women from easily obtaining a drug that can help them control their reproductive lives, at an age when their economic, educational, familial and professional futures are perhaps most at risk of being derailed by an unplanned pregnancy.—
Rebecca Traister (article: “Obama’s woman problem”)
[of course, more than just young people who identify as “women” need access to Plan B. Obama, though, clearly directed his comments at young girls today.]
(via keepyourboehneroutofmyuterus)
I hate this. I’m so angry. Well, I mean, then you obviously need to play daddy to the rest of the women in the country. Thank goodness we have a male figurehead to impose his common sense on us.
(Source: keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)
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Reebok must pay $25 million in a settlement over their Easytone and RunTone products, which fail to fulfill the body-shaping promises claimed in the ads.
Simply putting on shoes won’t make you skinny, kids. You’re awesome just as you are.
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Nearly one in five women did not have health insurance in 2010.
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FDA Possibly Classifying Birthing Pools as "Medical Equipment"
When I first read this, I thought Oh good! They are taking natural childbirth seriously! But, that’s not actually the case. Apparently this would make them harder, if not impossible, to purchase.
For the record, the story so far seems to pretty much be hearsay, based on a shipment of pools being seized in Portland.
I hope that this is all a huge misunderstanding, and that we would take steps to encourage women to have a birth most comfortable for them.
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The High Cost of Birth Control
The other day I posted a coupon for NuvaRing, a form of birth control. With the upcoming charge to to make birth control without copays mandatory, people who aren’t familiar with the costs of BC could wonder what the fuss is about. A few key points on the cost of birth control:
- Women typically pay between $15 and $50 a month in co-pays for birth control pills — $180 to $600 a year.
- More than half of women aged 18–34 say that the cost of prescription birth control has made it hard for them to use birth control consistently.
- A couple using no birth control has an 85 percent chance of becoming pregnant in one year.
Here’s a chart with a rough breakdown of the cost per year of various types of birth control. (source)
Method Effectiveness Cost Per Year Birth Control Pills 95 percent $160 to $600 Birth Control Patch 95 percent $160 to $600 Cervical Cap 77 to 83 percent $35 to $60 Condoms 85 percent $150 Diaphragm 85 percent $60 Fertility-Awareness 75 to 88 percent Free IUDs 99 percent $100 (varies) Shot (Depo-Provera) 99 percent $220 to $460 Sterilization 99 percent $30 to $200 (varies) Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing) 95 percent $160 to $600 Vaginal Sponge 68 to 84 percent $500 Abstinence 100 percentFree
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Benefits of Birth Control
One of the (ignorant) arguments against affordable, accessible, birth control is often that women should just not have sex. I’m just going to assume that we all know the basis of why the is ridiculous, so I’m going to skip over that part. But the other thing is, birth control can have a number of health benefits.
I have been taking various types of birth control for about a decade now to help keep my endometriosis under control. Quite frankly if it weren’t for birth control I would most likely have a lot of internal damage, as well as really really painful cramps. Luckily, I’m able to keep things under control. A few other benefits:
- It potentially protects against uterine and ovarian cancer
- Reduces the intensity of menstrual cramping
- Treating endometriosis (as mentioned above)
Another commonly known benefit is clearer skin. Do any of you readers have additional benefits of birth control?
Today’s theme is birth control, via a blog carnival arranged by Planned Parenthood and the National Women’s Law center. Feel free to share your experiences, comments, and questions in the comments or via my ask box.
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History of the Pill: Why Birth Control Matters
Included in the video:
Since the pill was approved:
Number of women who graduate from college is up 5x
Pregnancy related deaths down 50%
