Opinion: If GOP wins on health care bill, women lose
GOP bill gambles with women's health
Story highlights
- Jen Psaki: 7 years after Obamacare was passed, the GOP's inability to agree on how to dismantle it lets it live another day
- She says Trump may be willing to gamble away benefits, especially for women, for a win, but Congress can yet prevent it
Jen Psaki, a CNN political commentator and spring fellow at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service, served as the White House communications director and State Department spokeswoman during the Obama administration. She has worked as a consultant for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Follow her: @jrpsaki. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.
(CNN)A
vote on legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare has been delayed,
as Republicans haggle furiously over just how destructive they can agree
to be.
But
perhaps this delay offers a chance for Republicans in the House to take
a deep breath and realize what this is really about: a political win
for the Republican leadership and the Trump White House. This is not an
effort to make health care more accessible and affordable for Americans.
Health care policy is never easy
politics, but because dismantling the present health care system would
have such a profound effect on American citizens, it represents a test
of leadership and character for members of Congress.
Are
they scared of the threats and political analysis coming from a guy —
their guy, the President -- who is not steeped in the details of policy
by any account and who has a 37% approval rating? Or are they going to work to make health care better, not worse, for the American public?
Regardless
of who had won the election, Obamacare required some fixing. For
example, there needs to be more competition in the insurance market --
and there are many ways to address that. But the notion that Obamacare
is in a "death spiral" is baloney. More than 20 million people now have health insurance who didn't before, the uninsured rate is below 10%, the lowest it has been in history. Not exactly a disaster.
The
GOP's bill is another story. As the bill worked its way through the
House, the changes quietly made to it have become ever more draconian
and devastating to low-income families, to seniors, people living with
disabilities, and to women. All in pursuit of a political win.
This
is a fight worth having. And now that we may have some more time to
defeat this bill, it's time to get active. For the millions who marched
in the streets the weekend after the presidential inauguration as a
part of the Women's March this should be the next thing that gets those
pink hats out of the closet.
The details are startling.
One
of the "fixes" put in place to appease the Freedom Caucus is the option
to impose work requirements as a condition of obtaining Medicaid
coverage. The bill also gives states the ability to revoke Medicaid from new mothers
if they don't find work within 60 days of giving birth. That is two
months after giving birth. Work requirements disproportionately impact
women as they currently account for 62% of Medicaid enrollees who are not working.
And
by eliminating the essential health benefits, or EHB, provision, which
requires plans to cover maternity and newborns, the bill makes it less
likely that plans will cover maternity care at all.
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Then
there is birth control. The "controversial" product that tens of
millions of women, including Republicans, not only rely on, but support
would become more expensive for many women who have birth control
covered by Medicaid, as a result of the Medicaid cuts the GOP proposes.
Paying out of pocket for birth control can cost a woman up to $600 per
year, and for the 16.7 million women who benefit from Medicaid, that
simply isn't affordable.
These
policies treat women like an opportunity for cost savings, not the
mothers, grandmothers, caregivers and hardworking members of society who
deserve better.
While the
President of the United States may be ready to gamble away benefits like
playing cards, the women and men of the House and Senate have an
opportunity to put people, including millions of women, above party. We
will soon see if they are up to the task.
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