Precept Employee Benefits Blog

Straight from the "you must be kidding me column" comes a recent court ruling that will allow teenagers to purchase the Plan B (morning after pill) without speaking to a doctor or their parents. According to U.S. District Judge Edward Korman, "The record shows that FDA officials and staff both agreed that 17-year-olds can use Plan B safely without a prescription." And in just a few short weeks they will thanks to Judge Korman’s order.

Birth control pills require a doctor’s prescription and although more powerful, the Plan B pill will not. In a country where most states will not allow teens to buy spray paint, get a tattoo or a body piercing without a parent’s permission, it is okay for them to have a powerful drug that could end a pregnancy?

What type of message are we sending to our youth? Feel free to insert whatever moral argument you want here, there are many.

From a healthcare expense perspective, have you ever pondered the financial implications for all Americans when a reckless judge applies policy changes, such as this? I suspect there will be cases of drug reactions, sexually transmitted diseases from unprotected sex and teen pregnancies. All of these outcomes bear some expense. Is the drug manufacturer going to share profits to cover these costs? Is the judge going to be responsible or the FDA?

No, the expense will play out on the backs of private insurance companies and State and Federal healthcare budgets as it has every other time the courts legislate a healthcare policy change. What that means is taxpayers and consumers of private insurance lose. Thank you Judge Korman, this is just what we need, more medical inflation.