My husband would like to get a vasectomy but when I checked with our insurer, they told me that the plan would cover my sterilization without cost sharing but we would have to pay part of the costs for his procedure. What is the reason for that?

Contraceptives, including sterilization, are covered only for women as preventive services by ACA-compliant plans. Since sterilization for men is not considered a preventive service under the Affordable Care Act, federal law does not require plans to cover vasectomies.  However, seven states (Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) require individual and fully-insured group health plans to cover vasectomies.  State laws vary on cost-sharing requirements.  Check with your State Department of Insurance for more information.