Routine HIV Screening to be Covered Under Obamacare
Yesterday the US Preventive Services Task Force released new guidelines recommending that every American between the ages of 15 and 65 be regularly tested for HIV. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance coverage of all preventive services recommended by the task force, which means that regular HIV testing will now be covered under Obamacare as...
Judge Rules: Hobby Lobby Must Cover Contraception
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton ruled that the craft store Hobby Lobby must cover the morning-after pill for its employees. In September, the evangelical-owned Hobby Lobby and sister company Mardel Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for the morning-after pill and other contraceptives....
No Copay Day and You
American women should be celebrating today because an important provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going into effect. Birth control will officially be available to women with no copay, as will breast exams, breast-feeding support, domestic violence counseling, HPV testing, and many other services. These preventative services will save women a huge sum...
Know Your Benefits Under Obamacare
Just yesterday, one of my friends paid $35 for her monthly co-pay for her birth control prescription. And she has good insurance – yikes! But that was yesterday. Starting today, because of the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), every new health insurance policy must include FDA-approved contraceptives without any co-pays or deductibles. And that’s not...
Fortnight of Failure? Catholic Bishops Fail to Rally Support
Since the end of last month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have been busy rallying up their base to come out and defend their “religious liberty.” A series of events, spanning over two weeks and dubbed the ‘Fortnight of Freedom,” were planned and publicized to parishes and diocese across the US in an attempt to...
Supreme Court Health-Care Decision is Historical Advance for Women
The Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. magazine are elated that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act–the most important advance for women in nearly 40 years. Feminists are determined to protect the gains of the Affordable Care Act, which will protect the lives and health of millions of women and...
HERvotes Blog Carnival: National Women’s Health Week
By Cindy Pearson, co-founder of Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need For the 13th #HERvotes blog carnival, we’re celebrating National Women’s Health Week. The federal government launched National Women’s Health Week ten years ago in an effort to improve women’s health by building awareness about things like exercise, healthy eating and the...
HERvotes Blog Carnival: What Health-Care Reform Means to Women
By Cindy Pearson, co-founder of Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need For the tenth #HERvotes blog carnival, we’re celebrating the second anniversary of the new health-reform law, the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. Why are women so excited about the ACA? Well, for a start, the law has already started removing barriers...
Health Reform: Winning for Women
by Tara Mancini, co-chair of WIN’s Women’s Health Policy Network I think it is no coincidence that the 2nd anniversary of the ACA coincides with the celebration of Women’s History Month. Women have made numerous contributions to society that throughout the ages have received little attention, much like the important protections afforded to women through...
“Where Are the Women?”
by Ali Tweedt, FMF Intern Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s (D-NY) now-infamous words have gone viral paired with a picture of last Thursday’s all-male panel at the hearing on contraception coverage by religious institutions. The hearing, “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” was...
HERvotes Blog Carnival: No Religious Exemption for Birth Control Coverage
Despite enormous pressure from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Obama Administration recently decided not to broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act. This demand for additional exemptions, would have denied millions of American women contraceptive coverage, including students, teachers, nurses, social workers, and...
Seven Things You (and the Media) Need to Know about Birth Control
by Jacqueline M., Planned Parenthood Action Fund We were thrilled with President Obama’s decision a few weeks ago to protect access to birth control for women who work at religiously affiliated universities, hospitals, or institutions. By not further expanding a refusal clause to the birth control coverage benefit under the Affordable Care Act, he is...
