Health Care Reform for Women: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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Laura Hessburg |
Reproductive Health Expert Declares Health Care Reform Benefits Women Greatly
As Senior Health Policy Advisor for Reproductive Health Programs for the National Partnership for Women & Families, Laura Hessburg is superbly positioned to assess "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" of the 2010 Health Care Reform from women's perspective. In the May 2010 episode of Future Choices she asserts that women -- young and old -- will benefit greatly from many provisions of the legislation.
More about Laura Hessburg.
She underscores key provisions which will benefit women:
- increased access to contraceptive care for women on Medicaid
- simplification of Medicaid waivers for states (like New York) seeking expanded eligibility for women seeking comprehensive contraceptive services
- increased ability for low and moderate women to purchase comprehensive health care insurance through 'exchanges'
- Elimination of co-pay preventive health services
- prohibition in health insurance plans of gender rating
- Prohibition of practice by some insurance plans of dropping someone's coverage when they get sick and of denying coverage due to "pre-existing conditions."
- Young women (and men) may opt to continue as beneficiaries of their parents' insurance plans until age 26.
Older women who are beyond their reproductive years will benefit from Health Care Reform
- The bill eliminates for Medicare recipients all co-pay for preventive health services (like Pap smears, mammogram's): free preventive health care for Medicare recipients!
- It also sets the ground for improvement of quality of health care services for older people.
- Medicare is not only strengthened but also the 'donut hole' for prescription medicine will close.
- N. B. There is be no cuts in benefits under Medicare.
The Campaign for Better Care has been established specifically for advocacy on chronic care issues and improving health care quality and delivery.
She notes that Health Care Reform is disappointing to reproductive health advocates on one count
- The legislation provides for $75 million of comprehensive sexuality education funds to states seeking support of such programs, BUT
- it also resurrects in the amount of $50 million funding for 'abstinence only' sex education programs which have been shown to be so ineffective that Congress had recently eliminated appropriation for these harmful programs.
The 'Ugly' Element of Health Care Reform Is the Unfortunate "Nelson Amendment"
- While most of the Health Care Reform legislation increases women's access to health care, the unfortunate inclusion of the so-called Nelson Amendment severely restricts access to abortion.
- The arbitrary and burdensome system the Nelson Amendment creates stigmatizes abortion. It is designed to deter consumers from purchasing coverage that includes abortion and
health plans from offering it. Although the provision applies to health plans sold in the newly created health care exchanges, analysts predict that it will
diminish access to abortion coverage in the entire health insurance market.
Laura Hessburg Urges Everyone To Become More Familiar With The Provisions Of The Health Care Reform Legislation
Because there is so very much misinformation about Health Care Reform in the media and on the Internet, it is important for all responsible citizens to take advantage of a wide gamut of sources of accurate information about what the legislation brings to us
- Families USA provides a great website. It is, she says, “health care reform central” on the Internet. A user-friendly site, it has state specific fact sheets and advocacy tool kits.
- Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need is an excellent source for timely updates and advocacy actions.
- National Women’s Law Center shares their careful research on women-specific health care issues. Their site also has state-specific fact sheets about Health Care Reform.
- And, finally, the venerable Guttmacher Institute is always an excellent source of well-researched fact-sheets and policy background materials.
Ms. Hessburg Concludes That Everyone Who Favors Comprehensive, Affordable Health Care for all Americans Needs to Continue to Advocate for Equitable Implementation of the Law at the Federal, State and Local Level
- Action alerts at the Federal level may be obtained through a free subscription to the Women’s Daily Health Policy Report provided by the National Partnership for Women and Families.
- Family Planning Advocates of New York State is well positioned to keep residents aware of ways in which residents will benefit from the changes and pressing implementation actions needing their attention. (See further, for instance: Expert Delivers Strategies for Cultural Competence in Health Care; Sees Opportunity in Health Care Reform)
- In Westchester County, Planned Parenthood/Hudson Peconic is a ready source of the ways in which access to comprehensive reproductive health care is enhanced by Health Care Reform starting in 2010.
- Also in Westchester is the grassroots advocacy group, Westchester for Change, whose Task Force for Health Care Reform continues for positive change to enhance the access of all residents to quality health care.
- Our work to ensure thoughtful and equitable implementation of Health Care Reform has just begun, Ms. Hessburg asserts. We need to stay in contact with our local, state and federal elected officials and agency administrators to ensure speedy and efficient implementation of the new law.
When is Future Choices aired in your community?
See Local TV schedule for time and channel in each participating community in Westchester County.
More about Laura Hessburg
Laura Hessburg's work focuses on promoting efforts to expand access to quality, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive health care for all women, especially low-income women. |MORE
This page last updated May 15, 2010 7:28 .