The Affordable Care Act: Improving Women’s Access to Health Care

One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to improve women’s access to health care.  In the past, women could be denied insurance coverage because they were women or could be charged more for insurance than their male counterparts.

Four important elements in the ACA specifically address women’s access to care:

1. It will be illegal for an insurance company to drop a patient or exclude a patient because of a pre-existing condition.
2. It will be illegal to charge women more than men.
3. Health insurance coverage will be specifically targeted to women’s needs (eg, maternity care, preventive care, contraception).
4. The Patient’s Bill of Rights (i.e., no lifetime limits to healthcare coverage).

Read more:

Women’s Access to Care a Focus of White House Meeting (Medscape)