UA doc helped shape birth-control plan | GK Health

Posted by on Jul 26, 2011 in Health and Fitness | 0 comments

By Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

July 26--A University of Arizona professor and physician was a central figure behind last week's controversial recommendation that the federal government require insurers to cover women's contraception for free.

The recommendation from a leading medical advisory panel set off a firestorm of outrage last week as critics of the proposal, including the Roman Catholic Church, argued that pregnancy is not a disease and that fertility is not a condition to be suppressed.

"Birth control is such a nuanced thing because it has so many other benefits," said Dr. Francisco A. R. Garcia, a gynecologist and professor at the UA's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. With pregnancy, "There are things that happen, especially for women who have certain medical conditions, or in certain age groups. Every once in a while, women die. So having access to birth control is essential."

Garcia, who directs the UA's Center of Excellence in Women's Health, is one of 16 members of the Institute of Medicine panel that is advising the Obama administration about coverage of women's health services under the new federal health-care law. He is the only member from Arizona.

The panel is chaired by Dr. Linda Rosenstock, dean of the School of Public Health at UCLA. The Institute of Medicine is the nonprofit, nongovernment health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

The panel's report last week included eight key recommendations for no-cost health services that insurers should provide for women under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the new federal health law.

The recommendation that got the most attention was that insurers should cover all federally approved women's contraception, including emergency contraceptives like Plan B and Ella, free of charge with no co-payments or cost sharing.

Unplanned pregnancies can have vast and detrimental health consequences, Garcia said. Women with unplanned pregnancies are more likely to receive late prenatal care or none, which then has a consequence for both the mother and the baby. Women with unplanned pregnancies are also more likely to use tobacco and alcohol and experience domestic violence, and their babies are more likely to have problems with having a low birth weight.

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Source: http://www.gkhealth.com/2011/07/26/ua-doc-helped-shape-birth-control-plan/

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