Affordable Health Care for Women

By Lauren Reisig, JWI Intern

Infographic by UltraViolet

It’s a familiar scene for a woman: Standing at the pharmacy counter playing the “How much will my monthly birth control prescription cost today?” guessing game. There are numerous factors that contribute to the fluctuating cost of a prescription: brand vs. generic, deductibles, co-pays, insurance changes, etc. Rarely are such variables in the hands of the patient, and yet women and women’s health pay the price.

A woman who could afford birth control pills at $10 per pack may not have that same luxury when it costs $30 or even $90 per pack. Skyrocketing health care costs may force women to decline crucial disease screening at annual exams, or even forego exams altogether. Women are essentially being forced to choose cost over care.

Today, that all changes.

As of today, August 1, 2012, key provisions of the Affordable Care Act have officially taken effect, marking a breakthrough in the affordability of women’s healthcare. No more co-pays for preventive care. No more premiums for annual examinations. No more declining crucial screenings or counseling because of the cost. Bottom line: no longer will women have to choose between their physical and financial wellbeing.

JWI is a staunch supporter of these eight new provisions, listed below, which allow women, not insurance companies, to control the decisions made regarding their healthcare and their bodies:

• Well-woman visits
• Gestational diabetes screenings that help protect the mother and her child from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases
• Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling
• FDA-approved contraception products, which have proven health benefits like a reduced risk of cancer and protecting against osteoporosis
• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling
• HPV DNA testing, for women 30 or older
• Sexually transmitted infections counseling
• HIV screening and counseling for sexually-active women

Of course, as with all health care and government policies, there exists a fine print. The regulations apply to new, non-grandfathered private health plans. As a result, changes will not take effect until the new plan year, and it is up to each individual woman to contact her insurance company to determine when these new benefits take effect.

The health care system will never be perfect, but today, it became a little fairer for women nationwide.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Hidden Costs of Health Care

By Mali Kranz, JWI Intern

As an undergraduate student at University of Maryland, this article about ‘being a slave’ to your health insurance describes one of my worst fears. Luckily, with President Obama’s changes to our healthcare system, I can now remain on my parents’ health insurance until the age of 26; a necessity for a generation of students graduating into an unreliable job market with massive student loan debt.

Remaining on my parents’ insurance policy after graduation gives me options, but not everyone is so lucky. While I remain on my parents’ insurance, I have the luxury of deciding to go grad school, or working as a fruit picker in Australia before looking for a “real” job, but I realize many of my peers don’t have that luxury if their parents can’t afford to keep them on their plans.

When it does come time to get serious, I know I will face many of the same problems as the woman in this article, who while working as a dancer, is missing one major necessity: steady health insurance.

Kimberly Dawn Neumann has to work a certain number of hours per year to qualify for health insurance through her union, but as someone who gets frequently injured on the job, she can’t always meet her quota. As a journalism major, I would be extremely lucky to even find a salaried position in my field after graduation. Most likely, I will be in a similar position of trying to eke out a living doing freelance work and trying to pay for health insurance on my own.

This leads me to the tough realization that I may not be able to work in my field if I want the security of a reliable health insurance plan- and I do. I would have to be prepared to take whatever job I can get that offers me benefits, even if that means rethinking my career path and not using my journalism degree. I hope the Supreme Court recognizes this problem, which is sadly not unique, and upholds the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.

National Women’s Health Week: Pledging to Take Care of Ourselves

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

“You don’t actually need a Pap test right now, but you’re here and you’re ready, and that’s rare, so let’s just do it,” my doctor said at my last checkup. Now, I’m pretty good at scheduling annual (more-or-less) physicals, and actually going to them, so my being there wasn’t actually rare. What she meant is that far too many women neglect their preventative care and don’t receive the tests they need to ensure their healthy futures.

Women have preventative health care needs , including mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, reproductive care, and more. High costs, both for insurance and for services not covered by insurance, often prevent women from seeking these services. Additionally, women often oversee the healthcare for their families, and often view their own health care as a lower priority. According to the National Women’s Law Center, 6 out of 10 women do not receive regular Pap smears, even though cervical cancer is highly treatable when identified early. We need to change the way women think about preventative healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has improved access to women’s preventative care. In addition to services such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, the ACA also provides coverage for well-woman visits, contraception, and domestic violence screening, all with no out-of-pocket costs. Taking care of ourselves is now a little bit easier.

This week is National Women’s Health Week, and we recommit to making access to women’s healthcare easy and affordable. This week, we can all pledge to do more to take care of ourselves, and we can encourage the women we love to do the same. It doesn’t have to be a big change; the little ones are important too. We can pledge to get more sleep, to eat healthier foods, to be more active, or to visit the doctor.

What changes do you plan to make?

This blog is part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Young People Find Hope in the Affordable Care Act

By Hannah Sherman, JWI Intern

You know you’re getting close to your college graduation when even the first few notes of Vitamin C’s Graduation makes you teary eyed. As a Class of 2012 student, the thought of life after college is filled with both the sense of freedom and the fear of the unknown. For many people my age, the prospect of entering the workforce in this economy is but a faint hope and more and more young people are returning to the nest, unemployed.

While there may be many uncertainties, there is one glimmer of comfort in the form of the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. According to this law, young adults can now be insured as a dependent on their parents’ health insurance if they are under age 26. In a time of such economic downturn, this law saves countless young adults from the worry of living uninsured. In a December 2011 news release, the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the Affordable Care Act helped 2.5 million additional young adults get health coverage. Not only does the law allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26, it also makes it illegal to for a plan to deny anyone coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions.

March 23, 2012 marks the two year anniversary of this landmark legislation. As a young adult, I can personally attest to the positive and profound impact this law has on our lives, giving us one certainty to hang onto in an otherwise uncertain time. It is for this reason that I celebrate the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and its continued effect on the health and well-being of young adults.

Two Years Later, Reflections on the Landmark Health Care Law

By Miri Cypers, JWI Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist

Two years ago this week, Congress voted in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care reform bill, and sent the legislation to President Obama’s desk to sign. This came after months of heated debate in Washington DC and throughout the nation which showcased the complex and often vitriolic nature of the political landscape in the United States. Ultimately, the passage of this historic bill affirmed the right of every American to quality, affordable health coverage and served as an especially important victory for women and their families.

So what gains has the Affordable Care Act made since its passage two years ago? Now, over 20 million women across the U.S. have received preventive health care services, from mammograms to colonoscopies, without co-pays. Soon, this coverage will include other critical preventive health care services, like well-women visits, contraception, and domestic violence screenings- all available without additional costs to women. Now, 2.5 million young adults are insured because of the health care law which allows them to stay on their parents’ insurance plan until the age of 26. Now, nearly 500,000 Americans who were denied coverage have insurance. The list goes on and on.

Women are already benefitting from the ACA and these positive trends will only continue.  As women and as activists, we must continue to protect this historic law by dispelling myths and staying informed and active advocates. The health care law is a tremendous achievement for women and their families and despite strong opposition, we will not turn back now.

This blog is part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.