TUESDAY, April 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 70 percent of Americans support the new health care law's mandated coverage of birth control, according to research published online April 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
University of Michigan researchers surveyed adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia about universal coverage for birth control, which is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. The greatest support for this provision of the Affordable Care Act comes from women, blacks, Hispanics, adults with private or public insurance, and parents with children younger than 18 at home. The researchers also asked survey participants their feelings about mandated coverage of other medical services. There were high levels of support for mandated coverage for mammograms and colonoscopies (85 percent), vaccinations (84 percent), screening tests for diabetes and high cholesterol (82 percent), mental health care (77 percent), and dental care (75 percent).
Less than 10 percent of respondents supported mandated coverage for all services except birth control. This group included a high percentage of men, people older than 60, and those without children in the home.
"This isn't only a women's health issue. It's an issue that is just as important to families and communities," study author Michelle Moniz, M.D., researcher at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a university news release. "Our findings suggest that a policy requiring all health insurance plans to cover birth control medications is consistent with the beliefs of the majority of Americans."
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