Health Care Reform

This week is National Women's Health Week — a time for women to remind ourselves to put our health first. Some politicians are determined to put women's health first, too — first on the chopping block.

Opponents of the health care law are dead-set on finding ways to undermine it. And, if they win, our health will be undermined, too. Watch our new video! Then, share it with your friends, family, and co-workers and ask them to join the fight to protect the law.

For generations, women have overcome obstacles, exceeded expectations and fought for equality. Read more »

National Women’s Law Center is proudly taking part in the Health Equity Can’t Wait! blog carnival celebrating National Minority Health Month. Participating bloggers are health, consumer, civil rights, and provider advocates committed to promoting health equity. You can find all the posts for the carnival here.

Women pay about $1 billion more for health care on the individual market just because they are women. Yet women are only paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. We are charged more and we are paid less.

And that’s only part of the problem. The wage gap is even greater for African American women and Hispanic women. But the cost of health care is still high. So what does that add up to?

Well, if you try to add up it all up, you find out that African American and Hispanic women are more likely to be uninsured than white women. You learn that African American women ages 45 to 64 are almost twice as likely to have a disability, handicap or chronic disease that limits activity compared to white women in the same age range. You discover that Latina women have higher rates of diabetes and hypertension. You read that older women of color are undertreated for their cancer pain. You realize that there is a problem. Read more »