New health insurance requirements announced by the Obama administration on Monday will force health insurance plans to cover birth control and voluntary sterilization — with no co-pays — as preventive care for women. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service disclosed that the new guidelines, drafted by the Institute of Medicine, will take effect on or after August 1, 2012, and they are expected to apply to both individual and employer-based insurance plans.

The regulations will be imposed as an extension of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive-care measures. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated in a press release, “These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need.”

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