July 31, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Affordable Care Act: Women’s preventive health services begin August 1, 2012
Starting tomorrow a long list of preventive health benefits for women kicks in as part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) provided a rebuke of Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) call for a vote to repeal Obamacare. In her response she listed the women’s preventative benefits that will go into effect on August 1, 2012:
WOMEN’S PREVENTIVE HEALTH BENEFITS
Preventive health services new insurance plans must cover under health care reform without co-pays or co-insurance include:
- Contraception
- Well-woman visits
- STD screening and counseling
- Breastfeeding support & supplies
- Domestic violence screening
- Gestational diabetes screening
- HIV screening
- HPV testing
In addition to the women’s benefits that kick in on August 1, 2012, here is a list of other Affordable Care Act benefits and regulations that make health care more accessible, affordable and fair for Americans, listed by effective date:
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT BENEFITS:
- July 1, 2010
- Help for people with pre-existing conditions in the form of high risk insurance pools that will not deny you even if you have a pre-existing condition.
- September 23, 2010
- Illegal to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
- Adults can stay on parents’ insurance until age 26.
- No dropping coverage over a claim. Insurance companies can no longer drop your coverage just because you used your insurance more than the company liked. In other words, insurance companies can no longer drop your coverage because you are eating into their profits. This includes the elimination of lifetime caps on benefits.
- Existing insurance plans need to cover some preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies at no additional charge.
- January 1, 2011
- Free preventive care for seniors through Medicare.
- Insurance companies must spend 80-85% of premiums on health services. If they fail to do so they must refund the difference to customers.
- January 1, 2013
- Expansion of preventive health care for people on Medicaid, including higher payments to doctors who treat people on Medicaid.
- January 1, 2014
- No denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. It will be illegal for insurance companies to deny anyone because of a pre-existing condition.
- No higher premiums for women.
- Insurance companies can no longer put a year-to-year cap on insurance plan expenditures.
This is what Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have promised to repeal. Do you want these benefits repealed?
This post made possible by the The Rachel Maddow Show, July 31, 2012.
