Reality Check: Truth About Insurance And Birth Control
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Minnesota doesn't require insurance companies to fully cover contraceptives.
But the state does require those companies operating in Minnesota to offer more specific benefits than almost anywhere else in the country.
The truth: Insurance companies operating in Minnesota are required by law to cover at least 28 separate benefits, eight types of patients and 13 different health care professions. That's the sixth highest number of mandates in the country.
Here's what you need to know: Minnesota lawmakers order insurance companies to cover certain medical procedures when they believe the companies won't. That includes prenatal care, minimum maternity stays, cervical cancer treatments, mammograms and prostate cancer screening.
But it's not the whole story. Minnesota also covers medical conditions other states do not, such as Lyme disease treatment, scalp prostheses (wigs) for alopecia patients, complications from breast implants and port wine birthmark removal.
Ordering insurance companies operating in Minnesota to fully pay for the estimated $1,200 annual cost of contraception may be controversial, but it is not uncommon.
As many as 28 states already do it now, including Iowa and Wisonsin.
That's a Reality Check, and here are the sources used for this Reality Check.
Minnesota State Healthcare Mandates
Legislator Introduces Contraceptive Bill
Health Insurance Mandates By State
Birth Control Coverage By State
Port Wine Stain
Cranial Prostheses
Lyme Disease Treatment
Complications From Breast Implants
Health Insurance Mandates And Premiums
