While we are facing down the prospect of a presidential administration headed up by a guy who we highly suspect doesn’t actually want to do the job, there are plenty of other people on Capitol Hill who most definitely do, and will use their leverage in a Republican-controlled Congress and White House to their advantage.
It’s no secret that Republicans have been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”, for quite some time, but with President Obama as the firewall to protect the millions of Americans who are now able to get coverage, we’ve been safe. That all changes come January 2017.
After meeting with President Obama, President-elect Trump said he was starting to understand more of the details about Obamacare and signaled he may want to keep certain aspects of it. But if Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and the rest of the Republican leaders in Congress have their way, they will repeal it entirely. One of the components they were especially grieved about was the birth control mandate, which mandates coverage without a co-pay a part of every insurance plan.
The President even put in place a special measure to accommodate religious organizations who do not feel they can provide birth control coverage due to their beliefs. All they had to do was sign a waiver and the government would cover it. Yet even that was considered an infringement of religious freedom, which has resulted in a Supreme Court Case.
Although we don’t have exact policy details of what the GOP plan to do if they are successful in repealing Obamacare, when grilled by CNN’s Jake Tapper recently, Speaker Ryan was conveniently evasive and brushed aside the question of whether the birth control mandate would stay, calling it a “nitty gritty detail” they haven’t nailed down yet.
“With all due respect, I don’t know that the average woman of childbearing years out there who relies upon contraception provided by health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act I don’t know that she would think that that’s just a nitty-gritty detail,” Jake Tapper shot back.
It’s no wonder women were encouraged to rush out and refill their birth control prescriptions and get IUDs before Obama leaves office. While we await the details of what will happen to Obamacare and specifically the birth control mandate, it is important to be aware of this potential change and be prepared. Our friends at Nurx, the app which enables anyone to have access to birth control with or without insurance and get consultation from doctors, have put together a helpful infographic with important information to know in regard to accessing birth control in the future.
A key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has been to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Since major provisions of the ACA went into effect in January 2014, the uninsured rate has dropped to the lowest rate in decades. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the ACA when he takes office, while other times, he has stated that he would keep certain provisions of it. Below are six reasons why repealing the Affordable Care Act is a terrible idea.
1.) 24 million Americans will lose health insurance.
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented, the uninsured rate has dropped to lowest rate in decades. According to a recent report released by the Urban Institute, 24 million people would lose health care if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
2.) Women charged more than men.
Would make it legal for insurance companies to charge women higher premiums, simply because they can get pregnant.
3.) Legalize coverage refusal for people with pre-existing medical conditions
Currently, the ACA prohibits insurance companies from denying patients coverage with what they consider “pre-existing” medical conditions, such as AIDS, alcoholism, and diabetes. Repealing the ACA would again legalize this discrimination and leave sick patients without insurance.
4.) Repeal parental coverage
Under the ACA, young adults are able to remain covered by their parent’s insurance until age 26, regardless if they have a job, live with their parents, or attend school.
5.) Limit women’s coverage of birth control options
Obamacare requires health plans to cover at least one form of the 18 FDA-approved contraceptives. This coverage provides birth control to women without any outside costs.
6.) Remove guaranteed limits on out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Lastly, about 55 million women benefit from no out-of-pocket costs for preventative services. Obamacare has increased women’s affordability and access to contraceptives.
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