Free birth control becoming standard for women

July 4, 2014 by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Free birth control becoming standard for women
This May 28, 1999, file photo shows a new birth control pill container designed to look like a woman's makeup compact for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., of Raritan, N.J., displayed at the manufacturer's assembly line. More than half of privately insured women are getting free birth control due to President Barack Obama's health care law, part of a big shift that's likely to continue despite the Supreme Court allowing some employers with religious objections to opt out. (AP Photo/Mike Derer, File)

The Supreme Court ruled that some employers with religious objections don't have to cover birth control in their health plans.

But more than half of privately insured women are already getting free birth control under President Barack Obama's health law. That's a major coverage shift—and likely to advance.

Recent data from the IMS Institute document what was a sharp change during 2013.

The share of privately insured women who got their without a copayment jumped to 56 percent, from 14 percent in 2012.

The law's requirement that most cover as prevention, at no additional cost to women, took full effect in 2013.

The average annual saving for women was $269.

Explore further: Supreme court: Some companies don't have to cover birth control

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