We Got you Covered!                       Thank Secretary Sebelius for making contraception without co-pays a reality.                     While we are all focused on the debt ceiling deal in Washington — and we will provide you with more information later today on the painful and unfair cuts and the harm they will do to women’s health and the well-being of their families — we also have big news to report on a victory you’ve helped us secure. Over 60,000 of you signed our petition to support no-cost birth control, and earlier today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is adopting expert recommendations to require health insurers to cover contraception, along with a number of other preventive health services for women, without charging women co-payments. We got you covered — birth control without a co-pay will soon be a reality!

  Thank HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for maving women’s health a huge step forward   www.nwlc.org

For many years, the National Women’s Law Center has been working to get contraception covered in all health insurance plans, and without you, we would not have been able to say — we got you covered. Help us mark this important step forward for women’s health — join us in thanking Secretary Sebelius for this landmark decision and urge her to ensure that all women can benefit from it .   www.nwlc.org

This decision is a milestone in the effort to improve the health and lives of women and their families and underscores the real and tangible impact the new health care law will have on women’s lives. At the same time, HHS is unfortunately considering a proposal to exempt some religious employers from providing contraceptive services, and we will work to ensure that all women are guaranteed this vital coverage.

The HHS announcement expands the list of preventive health services that insurance companies will be required to be offer at no cost to the individual. It now will include contraception, yearly well-woman visits, support for breast feeding, counseling for sexually transmitted infections, and screening and counseling for domestic violence, among others.

Thank HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for this huge step moving women’s health forward and urge her to make sure that all women are able to access this vital coverage.

And thank you for all that you do for women and girls.

Sincerely,