This past Sunday families gathered to celebrate the mothers, wives, sisters and daughters and the special role they play in our lives. Mother’s Day also kicked off National Women’s Health week – an annual campaign dedicated to making sure that these special women get the care they need to live healthy and long lives.
The federal Affordable Care Act has made several changes to meet health care needs of women. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services outlines just a few of the upgrades:
- Insurance companies can’t deny coverage to women… Under the law, insurance
companies are already banned from denying coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition. In 2014, it will be illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against anyone with a pre-existing condition. - Women can receive preventative care without copays. Beginning August 1, 2012 about 1 in 3 women, or 47 million under the age of 65 gained guaranteed access to additional preventative services, like mammograms and birth control, with no out-of-pocket costs.
- Women pay lower health care costs. Before the law, women could be charged more for individual insurance policies simply because of their gender… In 2014, insurers will no longer be able to charge women higher premiums than they charge men.
Click here for a full-size view of this infographic from DHHS that provides more useful information on how women are benefiting from health care reform.