Celebrating 9 Years of the ACA

March 23rd marked the ninth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and we continue to celebrate it's impact on women's health.

Because of the ACA, the uninsured rate among women ages 19-64 dropped 19% to 11% and women of color experienced particularly large coverage gains helping to narrow coverage disparities.

The ACA also put an end to the common insurance company practice of charging women more than men for the same health plan and it banned insurers from denying health plans to anyone with pre-existing conditions.

The ACA introduced many new protections, including requiring insurance companies to allow young adults to stay on their parent’s health plan until they turn 26.

For women having children, maternity coverage is no longer an add-on benefit that insurance companies charge more for thanks to the ACA. It is one of the 10 essential benefits included in every health plan.

Because of the ACA, women receive preventive health benefits, such as access to 18 FDA-approved forms of birth control with no cost sharing and extra financial burden.

While we defeated the ACA repeal efforts in Congress, the Trump administration continues its efforts to sabotage the ACA through new regulations. Moreover, a lawsuit working its way through the courts is threatening to overturn the entire ACA, or invalidate its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. As "Obamacare" continues to be threatened by Republican lawmakers at both the state and federal levels, we must continue to raise awareness of how Wisconsin women have won with the ACA and fight back attempts to reverse the advancements made to women's health over the past nine years.