DeGette And Pro-Choice Caucus Statement On One-Year Anniversary Of Implementation Of Women’s Preventive Health Services

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise M. Slaughter(D-NY), Co-Chairs of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, released the following statement commemorating tomorrow's one-year anniversary of theAffordable Care Act's (ACA) preventive health services provision forwomen. The provision requires most health insurers to cover certainwomen's preventive health care services, including birth control andwell-woman visits, with no cost-sharing to theindividual:

"The Affordable Care Act is thesingle greatest advancement in women's health in a generation. For thefirst time, women across the country can access birth control and otheressential preventive services without co-pays. Since this key componentof the ACA was implemented, approximately 47 million women gainedguaranteed coverage of these additional preventive benefits withoutcost-sharing, saving them up to $600 a year. Many women can now choosefrom a full-range of FDA-approved contraceptives, allowing them toconsistently use the method that works best forthem.

"Yet once again, these gains for womenare under attack this week, as House Republicans plan to vote for the40th time to repeal, obstruct, and undermine the protections andbenefits millions of women receive under ACA. Instead of working on theissues that Americans are focused on like jobs, Republicans are busyfinding new battlefields for their war on women, including theworkplace, the doctor's office, the drugstore, and their pocketbooks.It's time for the House Majority to stop trying to take benefits awayfrom women and instead start working on the American people's number one priority: creating jobs and strengthening oureconomy."

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