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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Summer Session 1998
The Natural Environment (4) June 22-July 17
The Global Environmental Change (4) July 20 - August 14
Cultural Geography (4) June 22 - July 17
Geography and Environment (4) June 22 - August 14
Field Studies in Geomorphology(9) June 22 - July 31
Geography and the Internet (4) July 20 - August 14
Oregon Regions (4) July 20 - August 14
Remote Sensing (3) June 22-July 17
Wilderness Concepts (4) June 22 - July 17
Intro to Geo Into Systems (4) June 22 - July 17
Environmental Alteration (4) July 20 - August 14
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