August 1 is a great day for women. It marks the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) package of preventive and diagnostic care that must now be included without co-pays or deductibles as a part of every policy provided to employees by their employer. But while we celebrate, a note of caution is in order, because opponents of the new law have vowed to continue to do everything they can think of to dismantle health care reform.
First, the good news is that the new benefits mean that women can now get a free well-woman visit every year to obtain standard preventive services, and additional ones as needed. Pregnant women can be screened for gestational diabetes as appropriate, and women 30 or older can get testing every three years that can help reduce the prevalence of cervical cancer. Sexually active women can access free counseling regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and obtain free HIV/AIDS testing -- critical since women have suffered a 15 percent increase in AIDS cases from 1999-2003 (dramatically more for women of color), while cases among men rose only one percent
0 comments:
Post a Comment