MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Conceptus, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTS), developer of the Essure® procedure, the leading non-surgical permanent birth control method, today announced that as a result of the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the majority of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), including the preventive health services provisions, all U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods including permanent birth control such as the Essure procedure must be made available without cost to womeni in all private insurance plans.
Under the ACA, private health plans are required to begin covering contraceptive services in new plan years starting on or after August 1, 2012. Based upon initial research of existing private health plans, Conceptus estimates that few will offer no-cost coverage as of August 1, 2012, but a majority are claiming they will have implemented this coverage by April 2013. Currently most insurance plans already cover the Essure procedure with a reasonable co-pay, subject to annual deductible requirements.
"The court's decision leaves in place those portions of the existing law that will remove any remaining cost barriers for women with private insurance to get the Essure procedure. We can't yet predict how our business will be impacted by the ACA over the next year or so," said D. Keith Grossman, president and chief executive officer of Conceptus, "but we certainly see it as a positive for our patients and for our business as we focus on replacing tubal ligation procedures as the standard of care in the female permanent birth control market."
About the Essure® Procedure
The Essure procedure, FDA approved since 2002, is the first permanent birth control method that can be performed in the comfort of a physician's office in less than 10 minutes (average hysteroscopic time) without hormones, cutting, burning or the risks associated with general anesthesia or tubal ligation. Soft, flexible inserts are placed in a woman's fallopian tubes through the cervix without incisions. Over the next three months, the body forms a natural barrier around and through the inserts to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. Three months after the Essure procedure, a doctor is able to perform an Essure Confirmation Test to confirm that the inserts are properly placed and that the fallopian tubes are fully blocked, allowing the patient to rely upon Essure for permanent birth control.
The Essure procedure is 99.83% effective based on five years of follow up with zero pregnancies reported in clinical trials, making it the most effective form of permanent birth control on the market. Essure's 10-year commercial data tracks closely with its five-year clinical results, and Essure has been proven and trusted by physicians since 2002. The Essure procedure is covered in the U.S. by most public and private insurance plans and more than 625,000 women worldwide have undergone the procedure.
About Conceptus®, Inc.
Conceptus, Inc. is the leader in the development of innovative device-based solutions in permanent birth control. The Company manufactures and markets the Essure procedure, which is available in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Middle East.
Please visit www.essure.com for more information on the Essure procedure. Patients may call the Essure Information Center at 1-877-ESSURE-1 with questions or to find a physician in their area.
The Conceptus, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7961
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the accuracy of which is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, discussions regarding the potential impact to our business related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 as amended, our ability to grow the business, and our ability to replace tubal ligation procedures as the standard of care in the female permanent birth control market. These discussions and other forward-looking statements included herein may differ significantly from actual results. Such differences may be based upon factors such as changes in strategic planning decisions by management, re-allocation of internal resources, changes in the impact of domestic and global macroeconomic pressures, reimbursement decisions by insurance companies and domestic and foreign governments, scientific advances by third parties, litigation risks, and attempts to amend or repeal all or part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 as amended, as well as those factors set forth in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as to the date on which the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
© 2012 Conceptus, Inc. – All rights reserved.
i Group health plans sponsored by certain religious employers, and group health insurance coverage in connection with such plans, are exempt from the requirement to cover contraceptive services.