Kaiser Womens Health Survey

Finds Many Women Ignorant

Regarding ACA Benefits
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can help a
large number of women who face difficulties in
accessing health care in the U.S., Womens
Health Sure! b! "aiser #amil! #oundation
reealed that man! women are ignorant of the
benefits brought to them b! ACA. $rinceton
Sure! %esearch Associates conducted this
national sure! for "aiser #amil! #oundation,
which sure!ed &,'() women late in *'(&. +he
sure! addressed arious topics critical to
womens healthcare and the changes women
ma! e,perience because of -bamacare. +he
plight of uninsured, low.income and minorit!
women and groups of women was also
highlighted.
Key Findings
+he sure! e,amined womens coerage,
accessibilit! to and affordabilit! of care, their
connections to healthcare proiders and use of
preentie serices including contraception,
screening tests, and counseling serices. Here
are the /e! findings listed in the "aiser Health
0ews report.
+hough (1 percent of women aged (1 to
23 were found to be uninsured, minorities
and low.income women were found to be
more li/el! not to hae coerage. At the
end of *'(&, four in (' low.income women
were uninsured compared to fie percent
of higher.income women.
-ut.of.poc/et costs were found to be a
ma4or impediment to access care for
women than men as the sure! found **
percent of women aged (1 to 23 had not
filled a prescription or had s/ipped a dose
of medicine in *'(& compared to (*
percent of men (of the same age group).
*1 percent of women had problems in
pa!ing off their medical bills compared to
(5 percent of men. As per the sure!,
lower wages of women result in fewer
financial assets, less wealth and higher
rates of poert!.
6f we consider the case of preentie care
in the sure!, 2' percent of women were
unaware of the fact that the insurers must
coer at least one preentie isit in a
!ear. +hough )7 percent of women /new
that serices li/e mammograms are
coered, onl! &3 percent of women in the
age group (1 to 33 /new that insurers help
pa! for breast pump rentals. Around &&
percent of women were not aware that
now insurers cannot charge higher
premiums for women than men.
While four in (' women of reproductie
age had an H68 or S+6 test in the past two
!ears, half of them thought that the tests
were included in routine gynecological
isits. 9en though 2' percent of women in
the age group () to 33 had recentl! had a
conersation with a proider regarding
contraception, onl! )' percent tal/ed
about se,ual histor! while &3 percent
tal/ed about H68 and &' percent about
S+6s.
Ho ACA Actually Benefits Women
Without an! additional costs, women get
access to important preentie serices
such as annual well women isit, screening
for breast, cerical, and colorectal cancer,
smo/ing.cessation treatment and serices,
breastfeeding support and e:uipment,
screening and counseling for interpersonal
and domestic iolence and so on. 6t is
estimated that more than 37 million
women hae guaranteed preentie care
access with no cost.sharing under ACA.
+he healthcare law also insists on to that
coer all #;A.approed birth control
methods without an! co.pa!s.
0o insurer can den! health insurance
coerage on the basis of a pree,isting
health condition such as pregnanc!, breast
cancer, depression or being a ictim of
domestic iolence. +his will alla! the
concerns of proiders who find pree,isting
conditions on patients records while
scheduling appointments. +here are no
annual and lifetime dollar limits on
coerage as well.
-bamacare health plans offer ten essential
health benefits, which include maternit!
care. 6t is estimated that around 1.7
million American women currentl! bu!ing
indiidual insurance will get coerage for
maternal serices while most of them will
not re:uire a referral from a primar! care
proider to obtain obstetrical or
g!necological serices.
<ower.income women can get federal
subsidies for the plans purchased through
=ar/etplace. Under ACA, those who earn
up to 3''> (up to ?3),52' for an
indiidual and ?53,*'' for a famil! of four)
of the poert! line can get subsid! in
premium cost. +hose who earn less than
*)'> of the poert! line (?*1,7*) for a
single person and ?)1,17) for a famil! of
four) can get e,tra subsidies for out.of.
poc/et costs such as deductibles and co.
pa!ments. +he actual subsid! amount
depends on the income, age and location
of the enrollee.
-erall, the sure! points out the need for
improing both proider and consumer
/nowledge regarding the proisions of the new
healthcare law. Healthcare e,perts opine that
man! proiders dont do the tests the! are
supposed to do owing to this /nowledge gap.
0ot onl! will this gap limit healthcare access
for women, but it will also affect the proiders
reenue. Without insurance verification of
each !atient haing ACA coerage thoroughl!
for federal subsidies, if an!, the! wont get
proper reimbursement from insurance
companies. "aiser Health 0ews report sa!s
that Cara @ames, director of the -ffice of
=inorit! Health at the Centers for =edicare and
=edicaid Serices announced the launch of a
national campaign to reach women and
families on insurance benefits in @une, which
will be reall! helpful to enhance awareness
regarding ACA benefits.