No Co-Pay Day Boosts Women’s Health Care

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) released the following statement about an important benefit for women’s health care in the Affordable Care Act law that starts today.

“No Co-Pay Day marks a victory for women’s health care. Some 47 million women will now be able to get free preventative services which required a co-pay and a deductible before this rule went into effect.

“Any new insurance policies sold to individuals or employers must cover contraception without a co-pay as part of a larger package of mandatory co-pay-free women’s preventative care benefits. Insurance plans that have already been purchased will have to start offering no-co-pay contraception when they renew.

“Before the Affordable Care Act, some insurance companies did not cover preventative services for women under their health care plans, and others required deductibles or co-pays for the care they needed. That changes today – all health insurance policies are required to cover new preventative care without charging women any co-pays or deductibles. Some of the new preventative services now available with no co-pay include annual wellness visits, FDA-approved contraceptives, domestic violence screenings and counseling, breastfeeding support, HPV DNA testing for women 30 or older, HIV and sexually transmitted infections screenings, and gestational diabetes screenings that help protect pregnant women from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases.

“Too often, women put their families’ health care before their own, especially when it comes to preventative care. Thanks to this new benefit in the Affordable Care Act law, women can get regular checkups and screenings that are so important to staying healthy without having to worry about how much it will affect the family budget.

“Today’s announcement is just one more huge benefit of the Affordable Care Act law’s plan for improving our nation’s health care system. The Affordable Care Act law will provide greater access to affordable health care for millions of women and families who do not have coverage now, while also lowering health care costs, creating jobs, strengthening the middle class, and reducing the deficit.”