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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1998)
National News Insurance companies accused of sex discrimination A group said the insurers cover a n impotence pill for men hut not birth control pills for women By John Hendren The Associated Press NEW YORK — A doctors’ group is accusing insurance companies of sex discrimination for covering the cost of the impotence pill Via gra but not birth control for women. The American Col lege of Obste tricians and Gynecologists urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a bill requiring insurers that pay for pre scription drugs to cover contra ception as well. Dr. Anita Nelson, a spokes woman for the doctors’ group meeting this week in New Or leans, said contraception is a "medical necessity." Insurance companies are demonstrating “a clear bias,” said Nelson, an obstetrician and gyne cologist at the UCLA. “Viagra just hit like a tsunami and had imme diate acceptance. I’m glad there’s coverage for male impotence, but it does contrast with the lack of coverage for contraception.” Insurers said birth-control cov erage is available but many em ployers decide not to offer such benefits because of the cost. While nine out of 10 employer based health insurance plans cov er prescription drugs, most don’t cover prescription contraceptives, the doctors’ group said. Employ er-based plans cover two-thirds of all women ages 14 to 44. By contrast, nearly half of the al most 300,000 men per week who take Viagra — the latest and most popu lar impotence drug—are re imbursed at least in part by their insurers, according to IMS Health, a consulting group. Up to 73 per cent of patients using rival impo tence treatments are reimbursed. “It’s absolutely discriminatory not to offer it,” said Maidi Terry, a 27-year-old graduate student in Tempe, Ariz., whose insurer does not reimburse her for her birth con trol pills. “Viagra's a good exam ple. These options should be avail able to both men and women.” Viagra costs about $10 per pill. Birth-control pills, the most com mon contraceptive, typically cost $20 to $30 a month. The call for contraceptive cov erage drew outrage from the anti abortion American Life League, which opposes birth-control drugs and believes women who want to avoid pregnancy should abstain from sex during the days when they are fertile. “Pregnancy is not a disease,” said Judie Brown, the organization’s president. “The decision to use arti ficial birth control is elective.” The debate centers on a bill spon sored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R Maine, and Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa., that would require insurers that offer prescription drug benefits to cover all contraceptive drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Similar bills have been offered in 20 states. A Maryland law that takes effect in October mandates coverage for contraceptive benefits by insurers that reimburse for purchases of pre scription drugs. Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia also have laws or reg ulations requiring some coverage, accord ingtothedoctors’ grou p. Most insurers offer plans that cover contraception, but employ ers often choose not to pay for such coverage, said Health Insur ance Association of America spokesman Richard Coorsh. The industry group opposes requiring contraceptive coverage or mandat ing benefits in general because such practices drive up insurance costs, he said. “Any benefit decision is an em ployer decision, or purchaser de cision, and to suggest that it’s an insurer decision is really off the mark,” Coorsh said. Elizabeth Cavendish, legal di rector of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said that’s no reason not to mandate coverage. “There’s plenty of blame to go around,” she said. Nine out of 10 health mainte nance organizations offer some birth-control coverage for women, said Don White, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Health Plans, an HMO trade group. While that’s true, Nelson said, only 39 percent cover the five main methods approved by the FDA, and many non-HMO insur ers offer no birth-control benefits. Witness not granted leniency in Oklahoma City bombing case A judge said the deaths of 168people can be considered in Michael Fortier ’s sentencing By Tim Talley The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY—Rejecting a request by defense lawyers for le niency, a federal judge on Tuesday said the deaths of the 168 Okla homa City bombing victims can be considered in the sentencing of the prosecution’s key witness. U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Van Bebber set a sentencing guide lineofl4tol71/2 years before con sidering Michael Fortier’s assis tance to prosecutors. That means any time deducted for helping prosecutors would come from that sentence, not that Fortier would have to serve at least 14 years be fore he is considered for leniency. The federal government had asked that the amount be between 11 and 14 years and the defense wanted the starting point to be 18 months to eight years. Fortier, 29, will be sentenced May 27 for not warning anyone about the bombing plot and for ly ing to FBI agents. He also admitted hiding evidence and trafficking guns the government says were stolen to finance the bombing. Fortier’s lawyers told the judge on Tuesday that Fortier “was the mail man who delivered the evidence” in the bombing case and deserved a substantial break at his sentencing. “His help was pivotal in these otherwise circumstantial cases,” defense attorney Michael McGuire said. Fortier’s lawyers had urged Van Bebber to not consider the 168 deaths in the April 19,1995, bomb ing when deciding Fortier’s sen tence. That would have lowered his sentence to between 18 months and eight years—not counting any cred it he might get for his cooperation. At the hearing, prosecutors and Fortier’s lawyers disagreed over the extent of his responsibility. Defense attorney Fred Bennett said Fortier “was not a member of the bombing conspiracy” said could not have known that $2,000 he gave to Timothy McVeigh for Terry Nichols following sale of the guns would advance the plot. “The mailman delivered, your honor,” McGuire said. “When they called, we delivered. His tes timony remains unchallenged to this day. His story has always re mained the same." But prosecutor Sean Connelly argued that Fortier’s actions fur thered the conspiracy. “Fortier does bear some moral responsibility,” Connelly said. “Michael Fortier didn’t intend to kill people. But he didn’t care enough to stop it.” Connelly said Fortier “clearly knew McVeigh in tended to kill people.” Some of the bombing survivors and victim’s families weren’t hap py with the judge’s decision, one wanting even more time than the maximum allowable 23 years. 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