Resources and Publications
Are you working to make real progress for women and health care? Here are some key resources to help you in your efforts.
From the National Women's Law Center:
Making the Grade on Women's Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card 2007, National Women's Law Center and Oregon Health & Science University.
The 2007 Report Card provides a comprehensive assessment of women's health, both nationally and state-by-state. It evaluates 27 health status indicators and 63 health policy indicators, and assesses the nation and states' progress in reaching key benchmarks related to the status of women's health, and in meeting key policy objectives. View the full report.
Women and Medicaid Toolkit, NWLC Toolkit for Advocates, 2006, National Women's Law Center.
Medicaid is a critical source of insurance for low-income women. This toolkit includes background information on the Medicaid program and its importance to women's health; information on the significance of Medicaid to minority communities; an explanation of the 2006 federal Medicaid cuts and their impact on key health services, including information on cost-sharing and documentation requirements; detailed analyses of the importance of Medicaid family planning services and the significance of Medicaid family planning waivers as a means of expanding access; and state-specific information on Medicaid and its importance to women. Download the toolkit.
Improving Latina Health through Medicaid Advocacy: A Toolkit, 2007, National Women's Law Center and National Council of La Raza.
Latinos currently have the highest number of uninsured of any racial or ethnic group and Medicaid is vital to ensuring health coverage for many low-income Latinos. Expanding and protecting access to Medicaid is a critical strategy for reducing health disparities and ensuring broader access to health care for low-income Latino families. This toolkit emphasizes the role that Medicaid expansions can play in reducing health disparities in the Latina community. Download the toolkit.
Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap, April 2007 (Issue Brief), Elizabeth M. Patchias and Judy Waxman.
Although men and women face some similar challenges with regard to health insurance, women confront unique barriers to becoming insured. More significantly, women have greater difficulty affording health care services even upon finding health coverage. This issue brief explores why women are in greater need of comprehensive health care but often obtain coverage that is inadequate for their needs - or simply fall through the cracks of our current health system entirely. Download the brief.
Women and Health Coverage: A Framework for Moving Forward, April 2007 (Issue Brief), Elizabeth M. Patchias and Judy Waxman.
This companion to the "Affordability Gap" issue brief evaluates efforts to expand health insurance in terms of their potential to address the particular challenges women face. There is great variation among health care reform proposals with respect to their ability to meet women's needs. Whether reforms are incremental and build on the current health care system or create a new single universal health care system for all, the same issues of affordability and comprehensiveness of benefits must be addressed. Download the brief.
Contraceptive Equity Laws in Your State: Know Your Rights - Use Your Rights, 2007, National Women's Law Center.
Some states have mandated health benefits that protect a woman's access to safe and reliable contraception. These laws require health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs and devices to include health insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives. This consumer guide outlines those laws - and your rights - to equitable contraceptive coverage. Download the report.
Additional Resources:
Failing Grades: State Consumer Protections in the Individual Health Insurance Market (Families USA, June 2008)
This report—the result of a 50-state survey of state insurance departments—reviews the laws that each state has in place to protect consumers who purchase health insurance coverage from the individual market. Findings indicate that protections vary greatly across the country. In many states that lack adequate consumer protections, insurance companies can deny or revoke coverage, refuse to cover treatment for certain conditions, or raise premiums significantly.
Health Care Coverage in America: Understanding the Issues and Proposed Solutions (Alliance for Health Reform, April 2008)
This guide, updated for Cover the Uninsured Week 2007, provides an overview on health coverage in the United States, the factors related to uninsurance, and potential solutions to the problem.
Identifying and Evaluating Equity Provisions in State Health Care Reform (The Commonwealth Fund, April 2008)
This report identifies state-level policies that promote equitable health care access and quality. It also evaluates existing laws, regulations, or reform proposals in five states that are moving toward universal health insurance coverage. The report also addresses innovative strategies such as improving health care provider diversity, distribution, and cultural competence.
State Expansions Resource Center (Families USA)
This resource center includes an interactive map and state-by-state tables that compare state reform efforts, including health insurance expansion plans targeted at individuals and businesses, private market reforms, and program financing.
A Consumer Guide to State Health Reform, a joint project of Families USA and Community Catalyst.
This web-based guide will help advocates design health coverage expansions that build upon the current system of public programs, employer-sponsored insurance, and private market options.
States Moving Toward Comprehensive Health Care Reform, The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
This report includes an interactive map with summaries of state health care reform initiatives.
Health-Care-for-All on the Installment Plan, Progressive States Network.
This edition of the Progressive State Network's "Stateside Dispatch" presents a menu of incremental and pragmatic steps that states can take now to address health care access, costs, and quality.
Massachusetts Health Reform Toolkit, Alliance for Health Reform.
This toolkit includes links to representative articles and documents from across the ideological spectrum, as well as a list of selected experts and websites.
Covering Health Issues 2006-2007, Alliance for Health Reform.
A comprehensive sourcebook that includes information on many vital health and health policy issues facing our country.