HERE’S HOW REPEAL AND REPLACE WILL AFFECT WOMEN:
- Health costs, on average, will NOT increase.
- Will NOT be denied coverage for any reason, including pre-existing conditions.
- WILL have the ability to afford and buy the coverage and care they need, including maternity care, and contraception.
BOTTOM LINE: REPEAL AND REPLACE HELPS WOMEN:
- Greater options.
- Lower costs.
- Protects women with pre-existing conditions.
THE ACA HAS HURT WOMEN:
- Women—especially older women—saw greatest premium increases.
- Cancelled plans, broken doctor relationships, higher out-of-pocket costs.
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Hurt disproportionately by ACA employer mandate.
- Women 2X as likely to have had their hours cut.
- Women hurt by ACA’s 30-hour threshold lost benefits, pay.
- Younger workers also disproportionately affected.
DISPELLING MISPERCEPTIONS:
MISPERCEPTION: Women will pay more than men for insurance with repeal.
FACT: This is NOT true.
- As with ACA, Insurers CANNOT charge women more than men.
- Applies in all 50 states and cannot be waived.
MISPERCEPTION: Rape and domestic abuse will be treated as pre-existing conditions.
FACT: This is NOT true.
- 4 Pinocchios from the Washington Post fact checker.
- Survivors will not be treated any differently or charged more.
- No one will be denied insurance coverage for any reason.
MISPERCEPTION: Pregnancy, c-sections, and post-partum depression will be treated as pre-existing conditions so you would be denied a policy if you ever experienced any of these.
FACT: No one will be denied insurance coverage for any reason.
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(Specific to American Health Care Act) With state waivers, insurers may:
- Ask questions about health only if you have a gap in coverage for more than 63 days.
- Charge you an increased premium for a short period of time.
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Expectant mothers will fare better:
- Under ACA, uninsured pregnant women cannot get coverage outside of limited enrollment period, must pay out of pocket until birth or until the next open enrollment.
- Under repeal and replace, uninsured pregnant women have option to enroll in special protection programs for those with known higher costs.
MISPERCEPTION: Women will not have access to maternity coverage or no-copay birth control.
FACT: This is NOT true.
- Popular benefit, women will still have access—if they want.
- Non-waiver states: coverage still required for everyone.
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Waiver states: maternity, no-copay birth control coverage optional.
- Up to states/consumers.
- Insurers will still o er it, your choice.
- Many people don’t want/need this coverage, shouldn’t be forced to pay for it.
MISPERCEPTION: Many women will lose insurance coverage if the ACA is repealed.
FACT: Claims about coverage loss often taken out of context:
- No mandate -> Some will choose not to buy insurance.
- The goal: universal access to affordable health insurance coverage.
- Want to make it as easy/affordable as possible for people to buy insurance.
HOW REPEAL AND REPLACE HELPS WOMEN:
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Women will have greater options.
- Make the majority of decisions about health care/insurance for ourselves, our families.
- Deserve the freedom to choose our insurance, doctors, and treatments.
- A choice is only really a choice if it is a choice you want. Under the ACA you have choices you didn’t want—between very expensive plans that often cover things you don’t want, and at cost of losing own doctor.
- Premiums for women and men will decrease.
- Consumers win—greater options/choices.
- More affordable.
WOMEN WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS WILL BE PROTECTED.
- No one will fall through the cracks.
- ALL people, women and men, healthy and sick, will have access.
- Not flimsy plans, but coverage we can depend on.
- Under repeal and replace, no insurance company can deny insurance coverage to anyone for any reason.
- Additional programs/funds to protect people with pre-existing conditions.