Last week, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a new report recommending that 8 preventative health services for women be added to the list of those provided for free under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

For those of you who may be out of the loop, the ACA states that all preventative services that have been given an “A” or “B” rating by the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) must be provided for free (i.e. not subject to co-pays or deductibles).   But, because the list of current “A” and “B” services had some serious gaps in it, HHS had the IOM study the issue and make recommendations on what other preventative services should be included for women.

What they identified were 8 other areas where the USPSTF list should be expanded:

1. Screening for gestational diabetes;
2. Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30;
3. Counseling on sexually transmitted infections;
4. Counseling and screening for HIV;
5. Contraceptive methods and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies;
6. Lactation counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding;
7. Screening and counseling to detect and prevent interpersonal and domestic violence; and
8. Yearly well-woman preventive care visits to get recommended preventive services.

HHS is expected to react to these recommendations pretty soon, and we’re hoping to see the full list adopted!

To read the full IOM report, click here.