Some health insurance companies in Brazil have required couples’ consent so that married women can use the intrauterine device, known as an intrauterine device (IUD), which is a method of contraception.
According to the newspaper “Folha de São Paulo”, some insurance companies, Unimed João Monlevade and Divinópolis, from Minas Gerais, and Ourinhos, from within São Paulo, have requested their husbands’ consent to use this contraceptive. ..
Without identifying himself, Folha de São Paulo contacted the insurance companies by phone to confirm the information. And through the customer service center, the three companies confirmed that the procedure could not have been carried out without the husband’s consent.
Divinópolis and Ourinhos, via the press office, reported that they had rescinded the requirement after contacting the newspaper. On the other hand, Unimed João Monlevade rejects the consent requirement. The insurance company states that it only recommends sharing the term, and thus the partner’s signature space.
In order to require the signature of the spouse, insurance companies used as a basis Law No. 9263 of 1996 on Family Planning. According to the law, tubal ligation or vasectomy must be performed “with the express consent of both spouses,” for eligible men and women over the age of 25 or with at least two children. However, the requirements of the law do not include contraceptives such as the IUD.
After the report was published, the Sao Paulo Consumer Protection Service notified Procon to eleven health plan operators and requested clarifications about the use of this practice.
The agency said in a statement, issued Thursday, that it had set a 72-hour deadline for companies to clarify the conditions and requirements it imposes on beneficiaries in implementing reversible contraceptives and final procedures.
Following a report by Folha de S. Paulo denouncing that some health funds require a husband’s permission to place a contraceptive (IUD) for married women, Procon-SP is asking for clarification on health plans. pic.twitter.com/G1DJhAVfFp
– Procon-SP (proconspoficial) August 5, 2021
Fernando Capes, executive director of São Paulo Procon, considers the practice “abusive, illegal, unreasonable and insulting to the condition and dignity of women.”
An intrauterine device, known as an IUD, is a metal or plastic device that is inserted into the uterine cavity to prevent pregnancy.
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