Is it considered sexual discrimination if a health care plan covers all prescription drugs except prescription contraceptives? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) thinks so.

The EEOC recently ruled that employer-provided prescription drug benefit plans that fail to cover birth control may be unlawfully discriminating on the basis of gender. But resistant insurers and employers argue that benefit plans don't reimburse men for the cost of condoms, and they are consistent in denying contraceptive coverage to both to women and men.

Although it may be true that benefit plans don't sexually discriminate in their coverage of birth control, perhaps benefit plans should take into account the inherent gender differences when it comes to contraception and pregnancy. Women bear the biological consequence of conception and currently spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men, with much of this cost differential due to reproductive health-related costs. Considered from this perspective, denial of contraceptive coverage impacts men and women differently: If the lack of contraception contributes to pregnancy, the medical costs and risks to women are much greater.

Many women's groups have been outraged by employee health plans that don't cover contraception opting nonetheless to cover the anti-impotence drug Viagra. They see a double standard in the way our society views sexuality as an essential part of a man's life but not a woman's.

Although birth control doesn't physically enable sexual intercourse in the manner Viagra helps men overcome impotence, it can offer women the freedom to be sexually active without the risk of pregnancy. In this sense, contraception isn't just useful as a means to prevent pregnancy, it also helps liberate a woman's sex life.

The analogy of female birth control to Viagra may provide a stronger argument for contraceptive equity when a focus is placed on the common objective both medications fulfill: to allow people healthy, unburdened sex lives.

The single best way to achieve contraceptive equity for all American women is to pass federal legislation that requires this coverage. The Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act (EPICC), first introduced in 1998, seeks to establish parity for prescription contraceptives within the context of coverage already provided by health plans. EPICC would require all types of health plans across the country that cover prescription drugs and devices to cover contraception to an equivalent or greater extent. For the past four years, Congress has recognized the importance of this coverage by requiring health plans for federal employees to cover contraception.

In order to ensure better coverage, the U.S. Senate needs to act soon. Right now, 43 senators have said "yes" to this legislation, but it has been stalled in congress for four years. Find out if your senator supports simple fairness for women's health coverage, and access more reproductive rights material on NFPRHA's Web site.