The Women's Health Amendment and the Excise Tax: One Hand Giveth ...

Recently the Senate passed Sen. Barbara Mikulski's Women's Health Amendment, which requires health insurance companies to provide free mammograms and other preventive health services for women. This was lauded by many, since women's health needs have traditionally been underserved by the insurance system. So it's ironic that the Senate's excise tax will force many women to "pay" for these services indirectly.

Here's how: For one thing, the cost of the services mandated in the Mikulski Amendment will cause even more health plans to exceed the cost cap for the excise tax. And it's expected that 20% of plans will already be over the limit when the tax takes effect. In practical terms, any added costs for new services provided by these plans (like those mammograms) will be taxable. So, in one very real sense, the Senate plans to tax some of this preventive care for women - at a staggering 40% of cost.

The Mikulski Amendment looks like a step forward, but many women will pay for these services indirectly - in the form of higher premiums or increased out-of-pocket costs. One hand giveth and the other taketh away.

Some of the Senators who voted for the Mikulski amendment have not yet committed themselves to voting for the final bill, including Sens. Lieberman, Landrieu, and Snowe (who cosponsored the amendment). One way to for them to ensure that these women's services truly remain "free" - besides voting for the health bill itself - is to vote in support of the Sanders-Franken-Brown Amendment. That would replace the excise tax with a tax on high earners, bringing the Senate in line with the House's approach.

That would remove the irony in the Senate's actions and replace it with fairness.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future