AHIP Statement on Coverage for Preventive Care

WASHINGTON, DC– AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni released the following statement today on new guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services on coverage for preventive care:
 
"Health plans have long provided coverage for evidence-based preventive services, including the vast majority of services recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). We appreciate that the administration’s guidance recognizes the value of health plans’ programs designed to ensure patients are receiving the safest, highest-quality care.

"Unfortunately, the preventive care coverage recommendations recently issued by the IOM would increase the number of unnecessary physician office visits and raise the cost of coverage. The IOM’s recommendations would broaden the scope of mandated preventive services beyond existing evidence-based guidelines, suspend current cost-sharing arrangements for certain services, and encourage consumers to obtain a prescription for routine supplies that are currently purchased over-the-counter.

"Exceeding current evidence-based guidelines sets a troubling precedent for the IOM’s future coverage recommendations, including essential health benefits that will significantly impact the affordability of coverage and the cost to taxpayers. Incentivizing and rewarding evidence-based health care are vital to making coverage more affordable and to putting our health care system on a sustainable and fiscally responsible path."

News Source : AHIP Statement on Coverage for Preventive Care