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    andidopaintthemgreenKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 11:51am

    "Again, every insurance plan must cover at least one form/brand of each method."

    Can we talk Nuvaring for a second? Because as far as I understand, Nuvaring is in a category of its own (meaning there are no generic alternatives). Last year it was suddenly free for a few months (yay!), then suddenly my insurance found a loophole or something and yanked it out of the free coverage plan, which left me with a $70 per month copay because it is "brand name" and therefore not covered. Does anyone know whether the fact that there isn't a generic version of the Nuvaring, would mean it will have to be covered again in the near future under the "at least one form of each method" rule? It's the only thing that works for me that doesn't mess me up like WHOA, and I would love to take advantage of the program if I can, instead of ordering Nuvarings from Canada (and still at $35 a pop)...

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      opheeliaandidopaintthemgreen
      8/05/13 3:01pm

      The National Women's Law Center has a great guide on how to handle it if you've been charged co-pays. It may be that your plan was grandfathered and you won't have the coverage until next year, but you can check this out for template letters:

      http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/…

      There's no generic for NuvaRing, so you should be covered if your plan isn't grandfathered and it started after the effective date, which I believe was August of last year.

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      orangechickenorangeopheelia
      8/05/13 5:21pm

      I just posted this in its own separate thread because I didn't see it here, but I had the exact same problem and my insurance company (Cigna FWIW) basically told me to F off.

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    ljubicaKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 12:16pm

    I was so surprised/shocked when the woman at the pharmacy told me my birth control was free I almost forgot to pay for the other stuff I'd picked up to pay for at the same time. My brain couldn't handle it!

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      isner-mahutljubica
      8/05/13 12:27pm

      Every time I get my free whore pills (2 times so far) I feel like I need to do a celebratory dance. It's so amazing. Hate your drones, Barack, but love your birth control.

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      ljubicaisner-mahut
      8/05/13 12:34pm

      Pretty much summed up my feelings on Obama right there! I nearly did a celebratory dance, but I think my "what, free, really???" reaction freaked out the pharmacist enough for one visit.

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    catfaceKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 11:37am

    I'm getting my IUD in a couple weeks, with an $80 copay (much less than the $500 or so cited last time I asked)...

    Can't wait to whore it up! Thanks Obama! :D

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      lolitalolitacatface
      8/05/13 11:54am

      Ok don't hate me but you can't slut it up with an IUD unless you use condoms all the time or are monogamously pretend slutting it up. STDs and bacterial infections can travel up the strings that are left hanging out of your cervix which can lead to PID and infertility. Not a scare tactic, just how it is!

      Not saying IUDs are bad (I have one and I loooove it). Just sayin' be careful.

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      catfacelolitalolita
      8/05/13 12:01pm

      I know! I was being sarcastic! I would never dream of whoring around without condoms, IUD or not.

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    MooseyDeersKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 11:37am

    A bit OT, but does anyone know of a good read or two that really gets into the nitty gritty of the new laws and explains them? I don't feel like I know anyone who 100% "gets it" and what the changes (outside of this article, thanks, Jez!) will mean in our bigger healthcare pictures.

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      KlewlessMooseyDeers
      8/05/13 12:06pm

      I don't think this gets into every nook and cranny but it has some good info

      About the Law

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    ErsoKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 11:59am

    If you don’t have health insurance: you can enroll in an affordable health insurance plans starting on October 1 (plans and prices aren't available until then).

    One small correction: you can't enroll until October, but in many states you can actually go through a demo that will show you how much you are likely to pay when you can enroll, so prices are sort of available. More so in states like CA, VT, NY...your progressive states - than in your less progressive states. You may be able to find specific information about costs in your state if you go to the state drop-down menu at the bottom of this page: https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-he…

    This shit is for real, people. I have to believe when people start actually experiencing the benefit of this law, and see that, oh, for a family of four you can actually get decent health insurance for about $400 a month in the individual marketplace, there are going to be a lot of people wondering what the hell they've been so afraid of. But if you can't tell, I heart Obamacare.

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      KaizykatErso
      8/05/13 2:40pm

      Oh man, I hope I'm able to get on an affordable plan in a few years. Thankfully, I'm young enough to be covered by my parents' insurance, but that's not going to last forever. It's been a major stress for me since I have a few chronic conditions and I need to be on medication.

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      Marzipan in your Pie PlateErso
      8/06/13 3:20pm

      So here's a question: Some not-so-progressive states (like my great home-state of Oklahoma) have opted out of state plans. What are the options for those people?

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    DrunkExPatWriterKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 11:32am

    What the fuck is "tobacco use screening?"

    Also given the many, many ways it's possible to contract HIV, why is the coverage only available for sexually active women?

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      rokokobangDrunkExPatWriter
      8/05/13 11:40am

      It's not. It's also available "for everyone ages 15 to 65, and other ages at increased risk."

      https://www.healthcare.gov/what-are-my-pr…

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      SparkPlug128DrunkExPatWriter
      8/05/13 11:41am

      That was just a list of services available to women. Pretty sure men have access to HIV screenings as well, and given that it is preventative care, it's probably free.

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    Mrs. BeetonKatie J.M. Baker
    8/05/13 12:48pm

    Seriously, you're probably going to want to get that shit changed to a generic if you have health insurance. Once my magical "free" $0 copay pills showed up, my insurance company started deducting EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS from my HRA every time I got a refill.

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      piggywillow1Katie J.M. Baker
      8/05/13 11:39am

      Just commenting to say that I got my new IUD just last week for no copay, not even for the visit (I knew the device itself was free but I was expecting my regular office visit copay). Thanks, Obama!

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        TheLilithWentDownToTennesseepiggywillow1
        8/05/13 11:51am

        Wow! I had to pay $750 for mine... WITH insurance.

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        oldenough2byourmamaTheLilithWentDownToTennessee
        8/05/13 12:58pm

        Hell no! What's the retail cost? Shit!

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      CorggirlKatie J.M. Baker
      8/05/13 11:31am

      Getting my birth control switched to a generic so it would be free was a nightmare. I had to first figure out what my insurance company considered as "Tier One" contraceptives, then fax a list of all of those to my doctor's office. I then had to wait about a week for the doctor to get back in touch with me to let me know which one would work. They then prescribed that to me. I then had to call up my insurance company and set up the mail-order prescriptions (mail-order was the only way they'd cover the contraceptives for free), then call my doctor back and have them call the prescription into the insurance company. It was probably a two-week project all told. But I finally have my free birth control and I'm not letting go of it.

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        kristinbytesKatie J.M. Baker
        8/05/13 11:32am

        Excellent article. I've seen numerous articles on the GOP fighting obamacare/threating to shutdown the federal government over it/states refusing to set up their own heath exchanges, but very little about how Obamacare actually works.

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