OVER 1.4 MILLION WOMEN IN NEW JERSEY NOW HAVE ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE CARE

For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, August 1^st, 2012

ObamaCare Allows Women to Take Control of Their Health

(NEW JERSEY) - "Beginning today, some 1,445,004 New Jersey women can now take greater control over their health by having access to life-saving preventive care free-of-charge. Thanks to ObamaCare, 47 million women nationwide will be able to have prevention-related health care services at no cost.

"This is a great day for women in New Jersey and a great step forward for women's health," said Joshua Henne, New Jersey spokesman for Know Your Care. "No woman should ever have to make health decisions due to cost concerns. Because of the Affordable Care Act, women now have access to important preventive measures that will go a long way towards keeping both themselves and their families healthy. When we talk about access to care - this is exactly what we mean."

For the first time ever, New Jersey women will be granted access to potentially life-saving tests and services, without having to worry about price. No longer will women in New Jersey be at the disposal of their insurance companies. Instead, they'll be able to take control of their well-being and make decisions to best stay healthy, catch possibly serious conditions early and protect themselves and their families from colossal medical bills.

As Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebeluis put it, "President Obama is moving our country forward by giving women control over their health care. This law puts women and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of health care decisions."

Preventive care is especially important for women, who face significant and unique barriers to finding affordable healthcare. On average, women earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns - leaving them with less money to spend on health care. Studies showing that over 50% of women have skipped or delayed preventive care due to costs. Women are more likely to skip a recommended test or treatment, not fill a prescription or put off regular cancer screenings due to cost. Even moderate co-pays can cause women - especially those with low- and moderate-incomes - to forgo needed preventive care.

Over the next few years, as an increasing number of health plans come under the Affordable Care Act's reach, more and more women will have access to a wide range of preventive services without co-payments or deductibles, including: 

• Well-woman visits
• Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
• Contraceptive methods and counseling
• Screening and counseling for domestic partner violence
• Screening for gestational diabetes (helping protect pregnant women from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases)
• Counseling for sexually transmitted infections
• Screening for HIV
• DNA testing for high-risk strains of HPV  

Based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, these new provisions relied on physicians, nurses, scientists and other experts, as well as evidence-based research, to determine the services that are critical to ensuring women's long-term health. These vital preventative services will allow women to take their health into their own hands and get the care they need before it's too late.

To learn more about the health care services you may be eligible for at no extra charge under the ACA, go to http://www.healthcare.gov/prevention

For information about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on the number of adult and adolescent women in New Jersey eligible for the preventive services at no charge after Aug. 1, 2012, see http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/womensPreventiveServicesACA/ib.shtml

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The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23rd, 2010 and declared constitutional by the Supreme Court on June 28th, 2012. Over the past two years, it has been a tremendous help to millions of Americans as this real reform lowers costs and guarantees more choice for consumers. As additional provisions are implemented, ACA will continue to benefit millions more people.