In states that have not banned abortion coverage in the marketplaces, abortion rights groups have sought to influence insurance commissioners and insurers through discussions about the law. The National Women’s Law Center is providing a two-page explainer that aims to help insurers meet the law’s requirements on abortion with the least amount of hassle possible.
“[The idea that] everything must be covered every time and one side saying, ‘It’s good,’ and the other side saying, ‘It’s bad’ — that’s not quite right,” said Judy Waxman, vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center.
Women who drop out of high school also face more unemployment than their male counterparts. Nationwide, only 53 percent of female high school dropouts were employed in 2006, while 77 percent of their male peers were employed, according to the National Women's Law Center.
Groups signing the letter included: the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education, National Women's Law Center, American Association of University Women, ACLU Women's Rights Project, Women's Sports Foundation and the National Council of Jewish Women. The ACLU, the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, and the R.I. National Organization for Women sent their own letter urging a veto.
H.R. 2668 is opposed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, Consumers Union, Families USA, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and the National Women’s Law Center.
The National Women's Law Center found that 92 percent of the best-selling insurance plans charged 40-year-old women more than 40-year-old men for coverage, even for plans that did not cover maternity services. Beginning in 2014, Obamacare will prohibit insurance companies from charging higher rates due to gender or health status.
Gretchen Borchelt, director of state reproductive health policy with the National Women’s Law Center, said when a department is making decisions about regulations, it's 'important to note it’s not just a place where legal organization or provider affected would get involved but there’s also role for public to get involved.
"It makes a lot of sense for a large company to limit the number of people who actually have authority to take actions like firing and hiring and demoting," said Fatima Goss Graves, Vice President for Education and Employment at the National Women's Law Center.
Among the groups opposed are the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education, National Women's Law Center, American Association of University Women, ACLU Women's Rights Project, Women's Sports Foundation, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, and the R.I. National Organization for Women, among others.
