EMILY's List and Health Care Reform: Women Helping Women

WASHINGTON D.C. – EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, released the following statement on the two year anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which is being celebrated this week.

“Two years ago, we were proud to watch President Obama sign the Affordable Care Act into law, and proud of the role played by EMILY’s List women in making sure this was a bill that improves the lives of women and families,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “The Affordable Care Act means that for the first time our mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters have access to the health care they need. Throughout the debate, EMILY’s List women stood up to the countless GOP assaults, to ensure women’s rights and freedoms were protected.

“Their work isn’t over. The GOP’s very first priority after taking office was to repeal the Affordable Care Act and roll back access to basic women’s health care. The hard work of EMILY’s List women is under attack, and now is the time to send them reinforcements. 2012 is shaping up to be an historic year for women in politics and we are going to elect more strong women who stand up to the right, get things done, and help to build a more progressive America.”

EMILY’s List Women in Congress: Fighting for Reform

• Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s amendment to Health Care Reform brought historically broad preventative care for women.
• Sen. Maria Cantwell authored provisions to bring about significant cost savings for Medicare recipients, who are disproportionately women.
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar prioritized reducing fees on medical devices, improving breast cancer screenings and making it easier for small businesses to purchase health care with tax credits.
• Rep. Tammy Baldwin authored the health care amendment that allowed children to stay on their parents’ plans until they are 26 years old.

Health Care Reform: Bringing Care to Millions of Women

• Under the law, approximately 8.2 million previously uninsured women will gain access to health care coverage from expanded Medicaid eligibility. Up to another 11 million women will be eligible for subsidies if they do not have affordable insurance coverage through an employer.
• With the extension of parental coverage until age 26, more than 10 million young women were able to retain insurance coverage.
• The Affordable Care Act prohibited women from being denied coverage for having “pre-existing conditions” like pregnancies, past C-sections, breast or cervical cancer, or treatment for domestic or sexual violence.
• Maternity and newborn care are included as essential benefits in health plans, and services like annual mammograms, cancer screenings, prenatal screenings are now provided with no additional costs to women and girls.
• The law closed the Medicare Part D “donut hole,” the prescription drug coverage gap that requires seniors to pay for the entire cost of their prescriptions. In 2007, women made up 64% of the Medicare beneficiaries that were affected by the “donut hole.”

EMILY’s List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,000,000 members across the country, EMILY’s List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY’s List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.