Health Equity Connection for August 2012

In this Issue

• New Resources
• Policy Updates
• New Prevention Benefits for Women
• Latina Week of Action
  
• Upcoming Events
  

New Resources

• Being a Woman Just Got a Little Easier: How the Affordable Care Act Benefits Women (Families USA)
  
  
• A Closer Look: The Supreme Court’s Health Care Decision (Families USA) 
  
  
• Worry No More: Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Are Protected by the Health Care Law (Families USA) 
  
  
• Dispelling Myths about Emergency Department Use: Majority of Medicaid Visits Are for Urgent or More Serious Symptoms (Center for Studying Health System Change)
  
  
• Oceans Apart: The Higher Health Costs of Women in the U.S. Compared to Other Nations, and How Reform Is Helping (The Commonwealth Fund)
  
  
• 50 Reasons Medicaid Expansion Is Good for Your State (National Health Law Program)
  
   

Policy Updates

Mitt Romney Selects Paul Ryan as Running Mate
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has selected Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his vice presidential running mate. Ryan is best known for authoring the draconian budget plan passed by House Republicans earlier this year. The Ryan budget proposes repealing the Affordable Care Act, slashing funding for Medicaid by turning the program into a block grant, and essentially ending Medicare as we know it by changing it into a voucher system. Read more about how Paul Ryan’s Budget would do major harm to our country’s seniors and working families.

CBO Releases New Affordable Care Act Cost Estimates
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released two new reports following the recent Supreme Court Decision. The first finds that the Affordable Care Act will cost $84 billion less than first expected, largely due to CBO expectations that not all states will implement the Medicaid expansion. The second confirms that the law does reduce the federal deficit, while the repeal that the House passed in July was estimated to cost the government $109 billion over the next decade.

HHS Releases Final Blueprint for State-Based and Partnership Exchanges
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the final Blueprint for Approval of Affordable State-Based and State Partnership Insurance Exchanges. The blueprint outlines the exchange planning and implementation details that states must submit to HHS in order to receive certification to operate a state-based or partnership exchange. Among few areas of change from the draft blueprint is new guidance about entities that will assist consumers with enrollment in coverage.

Vote on Tax Bills Highlight Budget Battles to Come
The House and Senate have both passed different extensions of the Bush-era tax cuts, with House Republicans supporting an extension of the tax cuts at all income levels, while Senate Democrats opted to end tax breaks for those making more than $250,000. These votes are likely to be the starting points for negotiations in the post-election lame duck session of Congress, possibly as part of a large deficit reduction deal. The more revenue that is included in any deal will likely mean fewer cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.

New Prevention Benefits for Women

August 1 marked the implementation of important new benefits for women. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies must now provide coverage for many preventive services in new and renewing plans without copays or other forms of cost-sharing. This is a huge step forward for health equity, as it ensures greater access to care that all women need. In addition to the resources listed in the resource section, check out this news release from the Department of Health and Human Services and this infographic from the Center for American Progress to learn more about what women stand to gain. Finally, celebrate by watching this great video from Thanks Obamacare.

Latina Week of Action

Last week, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health celebrated the Latina Week of Action as part of their ongoing Soy Poderosa (I am Powerful) Campaign. Families USA joined in by participating in the Institute’s 3rd annual blog carnival. We believe that “Todas Somos Más Poderosas (We are All More Powerful) with the ACA” and congratulate the Latina Institute for their great work in fighting for health care justice for Latinas.

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