Brigette Courtot, Senior Health Policy Analyst

by Brigette Courtot, Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center

The need for Medicaid—the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people—is greater than ever right now as families continue to struggle with unemployment, income loss, and the consequent loss of their health insurance.  

Families who have never had to rely on public health insurance before are depending on Medicaid for access to the health care they need—this critical program could mean the difference between getting a cancer screening or skipping it; between filling a prescription for heart disease medication or going without; or between heading to the doctor when flu symptoms arise or trying to make do with home remedies.

But with states struggling to balance their budgets in the face of severe revenue shortfalls, Medicaid programs are on the chopping block. While the new health reform law stipulates that states cannot reduce their eligibility levels for Medicaid, there are other harmful cuts that cash-strapped states can make—they can reduce benefits, pay Medicaid providers less, or increase cost-sharing for the families enrolled in the program.

by Brigette Courtot, Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center 

Women are currently more likely than men to skip or delay necessary health care because of cost and to struggle with medical bills or debt. Being female also significantly increases the odds of filing for “medical bankruptcy”. These are just a few indicators of the health care “affordability gap” that has long existed between the sexes.

Notably, the new health reform law does a lot to narrow the affordability gap. It puts affordable health care within reach for millions of low- and middle-income women with federal health insurance subsidies. And it requires all health plans to cap annual out-of-pocket spending and prohibits annual and lifetime benefit limits, so that a single illness or injury can no longer spell financial devastation for a woman or her family.