President Revises Clause in Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act

Many college students support the Affordable Health Care Act because either their parents don't have health insurance or their ability to use their parents' health insurance runs out a few years after they graduate from Pitt. There is a provision in the bill that forces employers to cover birth control in their insurance policies. Last month, President Obama received serious criticism when he announced that religious institutions would have to cover birth control. To Catholics, this goes against their religious beliefs. On Friday, the White House announced that there would be new provisions to the policy, which would force insurance companies to provide birth control to women for free, instead of forcing religious institutions to pay for birth control coverage. The insurance companies would also be prohibited from increasing the cost of insurance policies to compensate for the free birth control coverage. Now that employers don't have to specifically cover birth control, every woman will have access to birth control at an affordable price. For college women using birth control, this means more money in your pocket.

Visit the White House's website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/10/president-obama-announces-new-policy-improve-access-contraception for more information.