As we mark the two-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, a new report showing women still pay more than men for the same health insurance underscores the critical need for the law.

Women want control over their health care. Don’t let politicians put insurance companies back in charge. All of us — men and women — deserve the same quality health care that Members of Congress get.

Twenty million women with private insurance have already taken advantage of the health care law’s prevention benefits. Now millions will get no-cost mammograms, contraception, and health check-ups starting this summer. Republicans in Congress want to take away these protections.

If it was up to them, insurance companies would be allowed to keep charging women more than men and denying them coverage because of "pre-existing conditions" like pregnancy or having been a victim of domestic violence. Do Republicans in Congress really think their health care is good enough for them, but too good for women who’ve had children or been victims of domestic violence?

Women want control over their health care. Don’t let politicians put insurance companies back in charge.

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EYE ON THE RIGHT

LIE:

 "There are $1 abortions in Obamacare."

DEBUNK:

• There’s no such thing — this is yet another right-wing scare tactic. And it’s based on a provision they fought to put in the legislation!
• In fact, if you don’t want a plan that covers abortion, the health care law makes sure you can choose a plan without it.
• The health care law also increases access to contraception, which means fewer unintended pregnancies and fewer abortions. If they wanted fewer abortions in America, they should focus on reducing them instead of making stuff up.

LIE:

"There’s a new CBO report that says the health care law will be double the cost."

DEBUNK:

• Actually, the new CBO report shows the health care law will cost LESS than originally thought — $50 billion less. Taking it away — even just parts of it — will INCREASE the deficit.
• The new law does essentially everything experts say we need to hold down health care costs. We can’t afford to go back to the broken system we had before.
• If they really cared about containing health care costs, why do they keep trying to force wasteful private insurance plans on all Americans or take away parts of the law designed to get rid of waste and abuse in the system?

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Affordable Care Act is working. The health care law’s benefits for women include:
  • Ending the insurance industry’s practice of charging women up to 150 times more than men more for the same coverage — costing women $1 billion more a year.
  • Banning insurance companies from denying women coverage due to "pre-existing conditions" like having been pregnant or a victim of domestic violence.
  • Providing comprehensive coverage of basic preventive services without extra cost, such as mammograms, pap smears and contraceptive coverage.
  • Requiring all new health plans to cover maternity and newborn care.
  • Getting rid of lifetime coverage limits for 40 million adult women and 28 million children.
• For state-by-state data on how the health care law is already working for America’s women, please click here.
• Americans strongly support many individual parts of the health law:
  • Nearly 80 percent support the insurance exchanges that will allow more than 30 million Americans to get affordable health insurance.
  • Over 70 percent support preventing insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
  • Nearly 60 percent support letting young adults stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26, while they finish college or look for a job.
  • Nearly 60 percent support requiring insurance companies to reimburse subscribers if they don’t spend at least 80 percent of their revenues on care rather than overhead or profits. This year alone, patients will get up to over $300 million in these rebates.
  • Over 60 percent of Americans support the individual responsibility provision after they’re informed most Americans would still get their health coverage through their employers and thus wouldn’t be affected by the mandate. Their support goes up even more the more they learn about it.
• What’s unpopular is the health care system we had before — Americans overwhelmingly agreed it was broken.

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