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NEWS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jennifer K. Bretsch, MS
November 6,
2003
202-466-2044
jkb@acpm.org
AMERICAN
COLLEGE
OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE RECOMMENDS
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
CARE BENEFITS FOR ADOLESCENTS
Washington, D.C. - The
American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM)
recommended today that state health insurance programs
pay for comprehensive reproductive health services for
adolescents. Among ACPM’s highest recommendations,
State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
should cover reproductive health assessments during
periodic health examinations and cover the prevention,
detection, and treatment of sexually transmitted
diseases. SCHIP provides health insurance coverage to
millions of uninsured children and adolescents from
families with incomes above state-set income eligibility
ceilings for Medicaid, but at or below 200 percent of
the federal poverty level.
According to Dr. Robert
Harmon, President of ACPM, “Prevention and primary
care services are essential for adolescents since the
most serious, costly, and widespread reproductive health
problems—sexually transmitted infections and
unintended pregnancy—are preventable. Preventive care
such as education, screening, and counseling can help to
promote and establish health-related behaviors in
adolescents that last a lifetime.”
ACPM also recommends
that states provide coverage for family planning
services and counseling—including pregnancy option
counseling, distribution of contraceptive devices, and
available emergency contraception—to adolescents
enrolled in SCHIP. Appropriate pregnancy option
counseling and follow-up should be offered to
adolescents who test positive for pregnancy. Equally
important is the appropriate counseling and follow-up
for adolescent women who have a negative pregnancy test
so that they do not become part of the population of
adolescents with an unplanned pregnancy.
SCHIP’s broad
parameters allow states considerable latitude to set
eligibility standards and to design a package of
benefits. ACPM’s recommendations appear in the ACPM
position statement, “The Scope of Reproductive Health
Care Benefits for Adolescents under the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program,” available on-line at
www.acpm.org.
The American College of
Preventive Medicine is the national professional society
for physicians committed to disease prevention and
health promotion. ACPM's 2,000 members are engaged in
preventive medicine practice, teaching and research.
ACPM advocates for the specialty of preventive medicine
and for national policies that promote health and
prevent disease. ACPM maintains an active presence on
Capitol Hill and among the many federal agencies and
non-governmental organizations that shape national
health policy.
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