Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst

Danielle Garrett is a Health Policy Analyst for Health and Reproductive Rights. She has a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Government and Women’s Studies and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas. She has worked in women’s health and reproductive rights advocacy since college with organizations such as Jane’s Due Process and NARAL Pro-Choice Texas. Danielle enjoys playing guitar, photography, eating seafood, and watching Longhorn football (Hook ‘em!). Once all Americans have access to affordable health care and women’s reproductive rights are secured, she plans to move to the Florida Keys and open a shrimp shack.

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My Take

Medicare: A Vitally Important Program for Women

Posted by Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: September 05, 2012 at 10:45 am

We’ve heard a lot of talk in the news lately about women’s health and a lot of talk about the Medicare program, but these things aren’t mutually exclusive. Medicare is a vitally important program for older women and preserving Medicare means preserving women’s health and economic well-being.

Women make up over half of Medicare beneficiaries and nearly two-thirds of beneficiaries over age 80. But it isn’t just the makeup of the program that makes Medicare so important to women. Older women also have other unique health and financial needs that mean they rely on the Medicare program more heavily than older men. Women have greater health care needs in their old age, as they live longer than men and are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions. Nationally, 49% of women with Medicare report having 3 or more chronic conditions compared to just 38% of men.

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Tags: Medicare, Medicaid & Other Public Funding, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

What the Supreme Court Decision Means for Women: An FAQ

Posted by Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: July 09, 2012 at 01:23 pm

By now you’ve probably heard about the Supreme Court decision on the new health care law, but with all of the news stories focusing on political candidates’ reactions and Supreme Court gossip, you would be forgiven if you don’t know what this decision actually means for you and your family. Thankfully, we’re here to help. To find out more about what the decision means for women’s health, check out our new Frequently Asked Questions.

The short of it is, all of the new protections we’ve been telling you about for two years will remain in place!

  • No longer will you be charged more for coverage just because you are a woman or denied coverage because you have a history of breast cancer.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act (ACA), House of Representatives, Health Care Reform, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

Don’t Listen to Fuzzy Math: The Affordable Care Act is a Good Deal for the Country and a Good Deal for Women

Posted by Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: April 11, 2012 at 04:29 pm

You may have heard about a new report claiming the Affordable Care Act will increase the deficit by $340 billion, rather than decreasing it by $143 as projected by the Congressional Budget Office. Now, there is a big difference between these two numbers, so you would be justified in asking how this new study could come to such a different conclusion from the CBO, the government’s own nonpartisan scorekeeper. The answer is by using some very fuzzy math.

It’s a little complicated, even for me and I’m a numbers person! But the issue is basically this: Medicare benefits are paid out of a trust fund. Legally, the trust fund can’t spend money it doesn’t have. So this new study is based on the assumption that when the trust fund is expected to run out, the government will simply stop paying for Medicare benefits. This is important because one way the ACA reduces the deficit is through long term Medicare savings. The new study argues that these savings shouldn’t be considered, since the Federal Government won’t be paying for Medicare benefits eventually. Basically, if the government wasn’t going to spend the money anyway, we shouldn’t consider this money “savings.”

But frankly, this is bogus. Does anybody think that the government is really going to cut off health care benefits to millions of seniors?

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Tags: Affordable Care Act (ACA), Budget, Congressional Budget Office, Deficit, Federal Budget, Health Insurance, Medicare, Health Care Reform, Medicaid & Other Public Funding, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

Health Action 2012: A Spotlight on Health Disparities

Posted by Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: January 25, 2012 at 05:14 pm

Steph already told you about some of the informational and inspiring speeches at this year’s Health Action conference sponsored by Families USA. I was thrilled to spend 3 days with so many enthusiastic and hardworking health care activists, but I was particularly happy I made it to Friday morning’s panel on health disparities. The panel was informative and engaging, but also quite alarming. It was there that I learned that the direct and indirect costs of health disparities in the U.S. come to $1.24 trillion over 3 years.

Census data shows that there are striking racial disparities in women’s access to health coverage. Hispanic women are uninsured at a rate nearly 3 times higher than white women while Black and American Indian women are uninsured at a rate nearly twice that of White women. Our women’s health report card shows more alarming disparities in women’s health status. Black women in the US are significantly more likely to die from stroke and heart disease than white women and the AIDS rate among black women is over 22 times higher than for White women. Additionally, Hispanic women suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure more often than White women.

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Tags: Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Care, Health Care Reform, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | 1 comment

Tell Congress That Preserving Medicaid is Critically Important to Women and Families

Posted by Danielle Garrett, Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: November 16, 2011 at 04:27 pm

The deadline for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (The Super-Committee) to reach an agreement is fast approaching. The Committee is undoubtedly debating cuts to many programs that provide vital services to millions of Americans, including Medicaid. In these last days leading up to the Committee deadline, we must let Congress know that an agreement that includes Medicaid cuts could be devastating to women and families.

It’s easy to view Medicare as a program that helps your parents or grandparents and Medicaid as a program only for the poorest of the poor — a program that doesn’t affect you or anyone you know. But you would be surprised how many people, including people you probably know, are helped by the Medicaid program. Medicaid helps pay for your widowed grandma’s nursing home and other long-term care expenses, doctor visits for your aunt who can’t work because of her MS, and pediatrician visits for your neighbor’s kids. Medicaid pays for prenatal care for pregnant women and family planning services to millions of men and women across the country. Americans of all ages, races, and life circumstances rely on the program to get the health care they need.

Medicaid is an especially critical source of health care for women and their families, particularly elderly women, women with disabilities, and mothers and children.

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Tags: Medicaid & Other Public Funding, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment