Feds add two preventive services to no-cost coverage list

Two new preventive services are being added to the list of those that people are entitled to receive without paying anything out of pocket (Source: “New Preventive Health Services Approved For No-Cost Coverage,” Kaiser Health News, June 5, 2015) 

In 2014, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended two new services and tweaked a handful of others that had previously been recommended.

Under the health law, preventive care that receives an “A” or “B” recommendation by the nonpartisan group of medical experts must be covered by health plans without charging consumers. Only grandfathered plans are exempt from the requirement.

The new recommended services are: Hepatitis B screening for adolescents and adults at high risk for infection, and low-dose aspirin use for pregnant women who are at high risk for preeclampsia, a condition characterized by an abrupt increase in blood pressure that can lead to serious complications for the woman and baby.