Looking Ahead: Women and the Affordable Care Act

This is an exciting time for women’s health care.  More than 9 million people now have access to health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, with close to a quarter of those being women who were previously uninsured. Despite the rocky launch of the federal website to sign up for insurance, that total is expected to rise significantly with the enrollment deadline extended to April 15 for those  who started applications before midnight on March 31.

Although U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation as the first open enrollment period came to a close, there is much to celebrate moving forward. Whether or not you were a fan of Sebelius, we should applaud the victories for women’s health care gained during her tenure. In fact, the ACA did more to empower women than ANY single piece of legislation since women gained the right to vote in 1920. Thanks to the ACA:

  • Young adult women are able to stay on their parents’ private health insurance until age 26 
  • Being born a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition 
  • Women can no longer be charged more than men for health insurance 
  • Women can get an appointment with their OB/GYN without having to first be referred by a primary care physician
  • Women can access depression screenings, domestic violence counseling, well-women visits and mammograms at no additional cost
  • All FDA-approved methods of birth control are now covered for women with private health insurance without co-pays or cost-sharing

Now it’s time to leverage the momentum of the millions of newly insured and the new coverage benefits and protections available to them to ensure that women’s health is prioritized, recognized and protected moving forward. Here are 5 things that incoming Secretary Burwell can do to build upon Sebelius’ legacy:

 1.    Protect and preserve the federal Title X family planning program: Even after full implementation of health care reform, millions will remain uninsured. Protecting and expanding Title X, the nation’s only dedicated source of federal funding for family planning services, will help ensure that women can obtain high quality family planning and other related sexual and reproductive health services regardless of documentation or coverage status.

 2.    Protect and expand access to birth control:  More than 99% of women have used at least one contraceptive method, so ensuring birth control access is a vital component of protecting women’s health. The Supreme Court is considering two cases involving for-profit companies who are arguing that the ACA’s contraception coverage mandate violates “their” religious freedom. If the Justices rule in favor of the companies, it could present a slippery slope for giving companies rights previously reserved for individuals and allowing a business owner’s religious beliefs to impact their business policies and practices.

3.    Improve Medicaid provider reimbursement rates: The ACA is expected to move 22% of uninsured women into health coverage. Millions of women will gain coverage in states that are expanding their Medicaid program, allowing more low-income women to qualify for Medicaid. Increasing Medicaid provider reimbursement rates for all women’s health services is essential to ensuring that there are enough medical providers to meet the demand of new Medicaid enrollees.

4.     Targeted outreach and enrollment efforts: Although the second open enrollment period won’t start until November 15th, 2014, HHS needs to develop and implement outreach strategies that specifically target women. Women make 80% of health care decisions for their families so ensuring that women have access to the health services they need and deserve is key to building healthier families and communities.

5.    Continue investing in programs that prevent unintended pregnancy. The United States continues to have the highest rates of teen pregnancy compared to any other developed nation. Abstinence-only sexual education has proven time and time again to be unsuccessful in reducing rates of unplanned teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We must invest in programs that provide our youth with access to non-judgmental, comprehensive sex education that includes medically-accurate information about contraception. Multiple studies have confirmed that giving teens access to birth control and sex education does NOT increase risky behavior. Unintended pregnancies cost tax payers $12.5 billion so doing more to prevent unintended pregnancy brings a high return on investment.

Julie Rabinovitz is President and CEO of the California Family Health Council

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