Affordable Care Act (ACA)

This blog post was cross-posted from The Center for Infertility Justice, the official blog of RESOLVE.

Lisa Green’s* insurance benefits book listed “artificial insemination” under covered services.  It did not say “but only for married people.”  Yet when her doctor recommended artificial insemination, the insurer denied her claim because she was not married. 

In its communications to Lisa, the insurer claimed that because the benefits book said “cost of donor sperm” was not covered, a woman using donor sperm (e.g., sperm from anyone other than her spouse) was not entitled to artificial insemination coverage. 

Lisa looked again at her benefits book.  There was “artificial insemination” under covered services.  There was “cost of donor sperm” under services that were not covered.  But Lisa did not have any cost for donor sperm, since she was using her life partner’s sperm.  And it did not seem like a narrow exclusion for the “cost of donor sperm” should affect her coverage for the artificial insemination procedure itself. Read more »

Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals became the third of the four federal appeals courts to consider the issue to turn back a constitutional challenge to the individual responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Congress has the power to require individuals to obtain health insurance (with subsidies for low- and moderate-income individuals), the court held, as part of its authority under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to regulate commercial markets, including the insurance industry. Those challenging the individual responsibility provision have argued that Congress nevertheless cannot require individuals to participate in the insurance market if they choose not to. But, as we argued in a brief in the case and the D.C. Circuit held, civil rights cases show that such a requirement falls squarely within Congress’s Commerce Clause power. As the D.C. Circuit Court stated, while the individual responsibility’s requirement that people obtain health insurance “is an encroachment on individual liberty, . . .it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race.”

But just as notable as the decision itself is who wrote it. Senior Judge Laurence Silberman, the author of the opinion, is an intellectual leader among conservatives.  Read more »

Yesterday marked the last day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. So it seems appropriate that yesterday the Center filed comments in response to proposed regulations implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that could make a crucial difference for women struggling to survive domestic abuse.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four women in the United States will be a victim of domestic violence in her lifetime. Historically, survivors of domestic violence have often been charged higher rates for health insurance or denied coverage outright – but the ACA helps provide domestic violence survivors with the care they need by prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on “conditions arising out of acts of domestic violence.” Read more »

Along with checking Facebook and reading the Huffington Post while I drink my coffee in the mornings, I also peruse the Federal Register. Now I’m sure you don’t think this is thrilling reading, and I’m sure I wouldn’t either if I didn’t have to do it for my job, but there is actually a lot of important stuff in there! Right now, federal agencies are deciding how the new health care law should be implemented and they are issuing rules and guidance that can have an enormous impact on women’s access to affordable health care. For example, comments were due on October 31st on proposed rules regarding the operation of the new health insurance exchanges, the advanced premium tax credits, and the Medicaid expansion.

While this set of proposed rules has important implications for all health care consumers, we believe women in particular have much at stake in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In 2014, over 7 million currently uninsured women will be eligible for premium tax credits and over 10 million will be newly eligible for Medicaid. Women comprise a disproportionate share of health care consumers, often managing multiple chronic conditions and paying more out-of-pocket costs, causing their health care to be prohibitively expensive and frequently unaffordable. In 2008, one in four women reported going without needed health care because they could not afford it. A system that provides easy access to affordable coverage is crucial for women. Read more »

Have you noticed an influx of vehicles donned with purple ribbons lately? Well, these ribbons are in recognition of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month; a month dedicated to bringing awareness to domestic abuse and the ways in which it can be prevented and eradicated.

The first annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month was marked in 1987 with the intention of creating a network among battered women and support systems, including the first toll- free hotline. Seven years later, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Ms. Magazine, introduced the “Remember My Name” project; a national registry of women killed due to domestic violence each year.

As recently as August of this year, major strides have been taken to end domestic violence. Read more »

This October marks the 25^th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

While Breast Cancer continues to be regularly diagnosed as the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States over all, it is important to note the many ways in which the Affordable Care Act is working to improve women’s health, including seeking to reduce breast cancer deaths. Provisions in the Affordable Care Act will hopefully make it easier for women to receive early breast cancer diagnoses and effective treatment. Read more »

Yesterday, Speaker Boehner and his allies in the House of Representatives acted shamefully: they passed H.R. 358, a dangerous bill that would undermine women's health and even put women's lives at risk. As we told you earlier this week, H.R. 358 is so extreme that some women facing pregnancy complications could die as a result.

The bill is not expected to pass the Senate, and President Obama has promised to veto it even if it does, but this vote was more than symbolic — these provisions are likely to surface again, either as standalone legislation or as amendments to other bills.

Put your Member of Congress on notice. Find out how she or he voted, and let's express our thanks to those champions who stood up for women's health and make clear our disappointment with the others. Read more »

 Greater protections against insurance company abuses.

• No More Rescissions: Insurance companies are prohibited from dropping your coverage if you become sick.
• No More Lifetime LIMITS: Insurance companies are prohibited from limiting the amount of money they will pay for your benefits over your lifetime.
• No More Annual Caps: Insurance companies are prohibited from limiting the amount of money they will pay for benefits during one year. During 2011, annual limits cannot be lower than $750,000 & are completely prohibited by 2014.
• No More Doctor’s Note To Visit The Ob-Gyn: The new health care law allows women to have “direct access” to this type of health care. Insurance companies are prohibited from requiring women to get referrals from their doctor for obstetrical & gynecological care.

Most of the work of the congressional super-committee (officially, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) is going on behind closed doors – but reports are leaking out. And the word is that some members of the super-committee are targeting programs for low-income people for cuts. Today’s post focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) – but Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, and other vital programs are also threatened, and we’ll have more to say about them as the committee continues its work. Read more »

Happy Friday! Welcome to the first of a re-invigorated weekly news and blog round up here on Womenstake. From Fridays here on out, we’ll be sharing with you some links from our partner organizations or to blogs from across the web we think you might find interesting. Sound good? Then let’s get started. Read more »