For Immediate Release: December 2, 2016
The ACA is the greatest advance for women’s health in a generation. Since its enactment, the law has enabled 9.5 million previously uninsured women to enroll in affordable, comprehensive health coverage.2 It has also improved the health care system to make healthcare more patient-centered and responsive to the diverse populations and patients it serves, leading to improvements in women’s health outcomes and the quality of care. However, there are further improvements to be made, and many women of color, low-income, and immigrant women, including undocumented immigrants, still face added barriers to obtaining coverage and care. Further, the law’s ground-breaking preventive services provision has helped save women out-of-pocket costs for critical preventive care such as contraceptive coverage.
In 2017, the ACA is facing the possibility of repeal. The alternative would require Americans to pay thousands of dollars more per year, causing millions of women and families to lose their healthcare coverage. We cannot go back – stand up to protect our care!
Solutions:
-Identify and eliminate discrimination – including sex discrimination – in the healthcare system.
– Continue to enforce and raise awareness about the preventive services provision.
– Support and implement the expansion of the women’s preventive services guidelines put forth by the Women’s Preventive Health Services Initiative.
– Ensure women and families have access to affordable health coverage and services.
– Ensure women’s access to a strong network of providers and promote continuity of care by continually assessing and improving network adequacy.
– Promote access to coverage for low-income women and families.
– Continue to support and implement expansion of behavioral and mental health services, benefits, and parity protections, including those that address women’s particular mental health needs.
– Promote consumers’ access to information by ensuring that issuers provide clear, comprehensive and accurate information about coverage options, as well as the limitations of a particular plan.
– Expand access to health care for immigrant and refugee populations.
– Continue to expand access to coverage by allowing undocumented women and their families to buy marketplace health coverage.