Next phase of health reform: New and renewed insurance policies will have to cover birth control, other preventive care for women

Even though the decision was widely expected, as part of health care reform, the news is still what Julie Rovner of National Public Radio termed "a pretty big deal." Earlier this week, she reports, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted in full the women's health recommendations issued two weeks ago by the independent Institute of Medicine. "Since birth control is the most common drug prescribed to women ages 18-44, insurance plans should cover it," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a press briefing. "Not doing it would be like not covering flu shots, or any of the other basic preventive services that millions of other Americans count on every day."

The upshot: Starting a year from now, most new health insurance policies, and eventually almost every policy, will have to offer a comprehensive list of women's preventive health services with no co-pay or deductible, including all forms of prescription contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These services include: Screening for gestational diabetes; counseling about sexually-transmitted infections; support for breast-feeding, including supplies and counseling; and domestic violence screening and counseling.

Rovner reports that "The new rules do take into account the complaints from some conservative and religious groups, by allowing religious organizations that provide health insurance to refrain from offering contraceptive coverage 'if that is inconsistent with their tenets.' HHS says that part of its proposal is modeled on the most common exemption used by the 28 states that already require contraceptive coverage to be offered in health insurance policies. The department, however, is specifically asking the public to comment on that portion of the rules, 'as we work to strike the balance between providing access to proven prevention and respecting religious beliefs.' Already the reactions are pouring in. Some people object to the religious exemption." (Read more)

National Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-7, focuses attention on need for supportive families, friends and employers

World Breastfeeding Week is Aug. 1-7, so the state Department for Public Health is pointing out the importance of providing support for breastfeeding families. “We encourage mothers to breastfeed to ensure that infants are getting the nutrition they need to grow and thrive,” said Health and Family Services Cabinet Secretary Audrey Haynes. “Even the most committed mothers can struggle to successfully breastfeed when they don’t have the kind of support system they need at home, at the workplace and in the community. If we want to send the message that breastfeeding is important and improve our breastfeeding rates, we need to support mothers who choose to breastfeed.”

The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and continue to be breastfed, along with other food sources, for at least a year. The cabinet and the department want fathers, other family members, friends, employers and others to know that, and the importance of support for breatfeeding mothers, especially in the workplace. “Continuing breastfeeding after returning to work is a tremendous challenge,” said Fran Hawkins, director of the state's Women, Infants and Children nutrition program. Public health officials stress that continuing breastfeeding after returning to work is often necessary to meet the recommendations for optimal infant nutrition.

The state says four steps help make workplaces more conducive to breastfeeding: support from managers and coworkers; flexible time to express milk (10 to 15 minutes three times per day); education for employees about how to combine breastfeeding and work; and a designated space to breastfeed or express milk in privacy. Kentucky law protects women who wish to breastfeed their babies in public. This law permits a mother to breastfeed her baby or express breast milk in any public or private location. This law also requires that breastfeeding not be considered an act of public indecency or indecent exposure. For more information, contact Marlene Goodlett at (502) 564-3827 ext. 3612 or marlene.goodlett@ky.gov. Information on breastfeeding can be found here.

UK hospital chosen to national program to improve breastfeeding rates

Photo courtesy of University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital

University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital has been chosen to participate in Best Fed Beginnings, a national effort to improve breast feeding rates.

Improvement is badly needed, with half of babies born in the United States given formula the first week of their lives. By nine months, just 31 percent of babies are breastfeeding at all, reports Allison Perry for UKNOW.

The program will involve the hospital implementing then steps to successful breastfeeding, which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pedicatrics. Some of those steps include informing all pregnant women about the benefits of breastfeeding; helping mothers breastfeed within one hour of birth; showing mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation; allowing mothers and infants to stay together 24 hours a day; and giving no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.

UK is one of 90 hospitals nationwide selected to participate in the program. Earlier this year, UK became the first hospital in Lexington to participate in "Kangaroo Care," a training program that promotes skin-to-skin contact between mothers and infants to help with breastfeeding and bonding.

Kentucky's breast-feeding rates are among the lowest in the country, with about 59 percent of new mothers breast feeding. The national rate is 75 percent. (Read more)

Kentucky companies adjust to new federal rules requiring accommodations for breast-feeding mothers

Rules in the federal health-care refom law are resulting in Kentucky companies making room and time for mothers breast-feeding their children, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mary Meehan reports.

Louisville Metro Government and four Louisville hospitals have announced programs that encourage breast feeding. Thirteen government work sites in Louisville will add lactation stations funded by a $7.9 million federal grant. The University of Kentucky started providing a program for breast-feeding mothers in 2009.

"It's not easy being a working mom when you are trying to breast-feed," said mother Lauren Goodpaster, right (H-L photo by Mark Cornelison). "Just having the support, having people say that's a great thing you are doing, that was kind of a boost to keep me going on days when it is such a pain."

The rules, which took effect when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed March 23, 2010, require employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place for nursing mothers to express breast milk during the work day. For more information about the regulations, click here. The U.S. Department of Labor has not yet released specific accommodation requirements or penalties if companies don't comply.

As of now, accommodations can be anything from providing a clean room with a locked door to allowing a fast food worker time to pump breast milk while in her car, Meehan reports.

Studies show breast-fed children are sick less often than those given formula, resulting in mothers missing less work time to care for their kids. In Kentucky, just 59 percent of new mothers breast-feed, compared to 75 percent nationwide. (Read more)