337096
When having an insurance card isn't enough: Coverage gaps, costly co-pays, confidentiality concerns and more
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
: 4:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Lois J. Uttley, MPP,
Community Catalyst, MergerWatch Project/Raising Women's Voices, New York, NY
More than 10 million people have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For women, the ACA has ended “gender rating” and mandated coverage of maternity care and key women’s preventive services. However, many newly insured women and LGBTQ people are finding that the coverage they have gained is confusing too use and requires costly co-pays and deductibles. Moreover, some plans have gaps in their coverage and too-narrow provider networks that leave enrollees without sufficient access to women’s and LGBTQ health specialists. Young adult women and LGBTQ people covered as dependents on family health policies have been struggling with confidentiality issues when they want to use “sensitive services,” such as abortion and STI/HIV testing and treatment. Participants will learn ways to identify and assess the nature of problems that newly-insured women and LGBTQ people are experiencing with ACA health insurance plans. The presentation will provide participants with include examples of model “women and LGBTQ-friendly” policies to address these problems and strategies that have been used in some states to win adoption of model policies.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Learning Objectives:
Identify potential policy approaches to such problems as narrow provider networks and costly co-pays and deductibles.
Assess whether such policy approaches are feasible in your state.
Keyword(s): Women's Health, Advocacy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As co-founder of Raising Womenâs Voices, a national initiative working to realize the promise of the Affordable Care Act for womenâs health, I serve on the steering committee of Health Care for All NY, the statewide health reform coalition in NYS, and the Advisory Board for NY State of Health, our stateâs ACA health insurance marketplace. I am a faculty member in the Masterâs in Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
