Updated January 22, 2012
The Obama administration announced today a one-year delay for religious nonprofit organizations to abide by a new rule that requires employers who offer health insurance to include coverage of contraception for their employees with no out-of-pocket costs. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship were already exempt from the rule, but the administration had faced pressure from some religious groups and conservatives to expand that exemption.
AAUW believes that contraception and related outpatient services are basic health care for women, and like all other basic health care needs, should be covered by health insurance policies. AAUW was pleased when the Department of Health and Human Services said that contraception should be covered by insurance without a co-payment or cost sharing. AAUW opposes the religious exemption provision, as it will deny thousands of women access to affordable contraceptive care.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
The Department of Health and Human Services has stepped up its outreach efforts to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities through a new health initiative that aims to promote equal treatment of LGBT Americans in health care, provide enhanced resources for LGBT health issues, and develop better information concerning LGBT health issues. Following President Barack Obama’s memorandum that established equal hospital visitation rights for LGBT partners, the department has held sessions with LGBT communities nationwide to hear how the agency can improve life for LGBT people and their families.
AAUW believes that Americans should not be denied the full range of civil rights and civil liberties due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Such rights and liberties include freedom from discrimination in the workplace, the right to marry, and the guarantee of spousal/partner benefits.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
A new study found that providing paid family leave to workers proves beneficial for working families, businesses, and the public. The research by the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, showed that women who use paid leave are much more likely to be working nine to 12 months after a child’s birth than those who do not take leave. These women also reported an increase in wages post-birth. The report, Pay Matters: The Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families, Businesses and the Public, called for an examination of the United States’ family leave policies – which only guarantee unpaid leave at businesses with at least 50 employees – to meet the work-family needs of today’s workers.
AAUW believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy. AAUW is committed to greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that create a family-friendly workplace environment, which are critical to women's equitable access and advancement in employment.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
Almost 1 million additional young adults – a jump from 7.3 million to 8.2 million – now have health insurance through their parents’ employment-based coverage as part of the new health care reform law, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute. The law now requires that group health plans and insurers make dependent coverage available for young adults until they turn 26, regardless of student status or financial support from their parents. The
In related news, Democratic state attorneys filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending the constitutionality of the health care law’s requirement that all Americans have health insurance. The court is expected to hear oral arguments on the case in mid-March and make a ruling by June. AAUW and several other women’s organizations have filed a brief in support of the law, saying that it serves to improve women’s access to health care and health insurance and to end practices that discriminate against women.
AAUW supports the idea that all Americans are entitled to quality, affordable health care. Failure to provide for and protect that right has had numerous consequences over time, ranging from dismal health outcomes for Americans as compared to the rest of the developed world to excessive indirect costs that have taken a substantial toll on the economy. Women disparately feel these negative outcomes. AAUW is hopeful that the health care law will substantially improve a system that has not worked as well as it needs to for far too long. As implementation of the law continues, AAUW will focus on the need for access and affordability — and in a way that is equitable to women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
Growth in health-care spending neared a historic low at 3.9 percent in 2010, according to data released by federal analysts. High unemployment, losses in private insurance coverage, and increased cost sharing were cited as factors prompting people to cut back on medical care by forgoing it or seeking less costly alternatives.
AAUW believes that everyone is entitled to health care that is high quality, affordable, and easily accessible. AAUW is hopeful that the health care law will substantially improve a system that has not worked as well as it needs to for far too long. As implementation of the law continues, AAUW will focus on the need for access and affordability — and in a way that is equitable to women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 13, 2012.
The Supreme Court is weighing whether to uphold state workers’ ability to sue over medical leave. The court heard arguments this week in a case involving a former Maryland state court worker who said he was fired in 2007 after taking 10 days off for hypertension and diabetes. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), two top Democrats who helped draft the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), urged the court to allow workers to sue the state.
However, two lower courts and 27 states including Maryland argue that the man should not be able to sue the state. The states agree that FMLA does apply to them, but say that if the state violates the law, the fired employee should be able to go to court to get his job back, not sue the state.
AAUW will defend FMLA from any attempts to weaken it. AAUW has previously fought against state governments’ attempts to shirk their responsibilities under the law and will continue to work tirelessly until family and personal sick leave are available to all working Americans.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 13, 2012.
On January 1st, Connecticut’s new paid sick days law went into effect, guaranteeing hundreds of thousands of service workers across the state the ability to accrue paid leave to use for their own illness or to care for a sick family member. Connecticut joins San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Seattle in the list of localities that now recognize how important it is for workers to stay home when they are ill. Further, these employees will no longer have to choose between a paycheck and their health – or the health of their colleagues and the public. During the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates that as many as 8 million employees came to work sick and infected an additional 7 million people in the process.
AAUW believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy. We support the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1876/S. 984), which would implement paid sick days policies like those in Connecticut, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Seattle across the country for all workers.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 6, 2012.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius announced Tuesday that the number of young adults with health insurance has increased by 2.5 million since 2010. According to an analysis by the National Center for Health Statistics, this increase in coverage was due to the provision of the health care law that allows young adults to remain on their parents’ plans until the age of 26. The administration states that the number of young adults with health care coverage will continue to increase when the law is fully implemented, as it will become illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
AAUW believes that, although not perfect by any stretch, many of the reforms included in the 2010 health care law will improve the collective health of the American people. It is our hope that the elimination of preexisting conditions and gender rating in the individual and small groups markets will result in better outcomes for more women. Unfortunately, many women will find that they have less coverage for full reproductive services due to far-reaching limitations in the new law. AAUW will continue to work to restore full access to all health care for women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 16, 2011.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Thursday found that most Americans do not know what is in the federal health care reform law that passed more than 18 months ago. Of those surveyed, 56 percent answered incorrectly that the law includes a government-run insurance plan, and 13 percent didn’t know. Additionally, only 35 percent of those surveyed knew that the law eliminated co-pays for preventive care, a measure that went into effect more than a year ago. Of those surveyed who had a negative view of the health care reform law, nearly half said that their negative feelings were not directed toward the law itself but were more about their general dislike of Washington.
AAUW believes that, although not perfect by any stretch, many of the reforms included in the law will improve the collective health of the American people. It is our hope that the elimination of preexisting conditions and ending gender rating in the individual and small groups markets will result in better outcomes for more women. Unfortunately, many women will find that they have less coverage for full reproductive services due to far-reaching limitations in the new law. AAUW will continue to work to restore full access to all health care for women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 2, 2011.
An initiative that would have required all businesses in Denver to provide paid sick leave to employees failed this week. Early polls showed Denver’s Initiative 300 winning, but Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and a majority of the Denver City Council urged no votes, and opponents raised nearly twice as much money as supporters did during the campaign.
AAUW’s 2011–13 Public Policy Program supports greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that promote work-life balance, which are critical for women for equitable access and advancement in employment. AAUW is disappointed in the outcome of Denver’s Initiative 300, but is extremely proud of all the hard work done by our AAUW members in Denver.
Take Action! Nearly half of all private-section workers in America are denied the opportunity to earn paid sick days. Ask your representative to become a cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act! Justice Department Says Supreme Court Cannot Strike Down Mandate Alone
The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued this week that if the Supreme Court strikes down the health care law’s individual mandate when it decides on its constitutionality, it also has to strike down other parts of the law. Lower courts have reached different conclusions about the mandate and whether it can be “severed” from the rest of the law. DOJ said the Supreme Court, if it struck down the mandate, would also have to invalidate policies that require insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions and prohibit insurers from charging those people higher premiums, arguing that Congress’s intent in passing the legislation was to bind all three requirements together to ensure the reform’s affordability. Both sides have asked the high court to take the case as soon as possible.
AAUW believes that everyone is entitled to health care that is high-quality, affordable, and easily accessible. AAUW believes that, although not perfect by any stretch, many of the reforms included in the Affordable Care Act will improve the collective health of the American people.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for October 21, 2011.
According to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, 2010 saw a 2 percent decrease in the number of young Americans without health insurance. From 2009 to 2010, 500,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 gained health insurance coverage. The White House believes that the increase is due to a provision in the health care reform law passed last year that allows young adults to be covered under their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26.
AAUW believes that everyone is entitled to health care that is high-quality, affordable, and easily accessible. Although not perfect by any stretch, many of the reforms included in the Affordable Care Act will improve the collective health of the American people. As the Affordable Care Act is implemented, AAUW will continue to monitor the process to ensure the health care needs of working women and their families are addressed.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 23, 2011.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the commonwealth of Virginia does not have standing to challenge the federal health care reform law. The lawsuit, brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, challenged the constitutionality of an individual mandate established in the federal law that requires individuals to purchase insurance. Considering the individual mandate to be an issue of taxation, the court ruled that it could not decide on the issue until after the taxes go into effect in 2014. Similar cases challenging provisions of the health care law in lower appellate courts across the country indicate that the Supreme Court will likely address this issue within the next few years.
AAUW believes that, although not perfect, many of the reforms included in the new federal law will improve the collective health of the American people, especially women. Not only are women less able to afford insurance or care because of life-long wage disparities, they face unstable coverage when reliant on their spouses' plans, higher premiums than men in the individual market, a lack of access based on more prevalent preexisting conditions, and higher out of pocket costs than men. As the federal health care law now turns from debate to implementation, AAUW will continue to monitor the process to ensure the health care needs of working women and their families.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 16, 2011.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 16, 2011.
Playing off the popularity of the new movie “Contagion,” a new video released by the organization Family Values at Work discusses how inability to use earned sick leave accelerates the spread of flu epidemics. The video features five American workers in different sectors of the economy, highlighting how millions of Americans often face the choice between going to work sick and losing a day’s pay (or possibly being fired). Working when ill can expose dozens of colleagues and/or customers to illness, which can greatly accelerate the spread of epidemics.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 16, 2011.
On Monday, Seattle became the third U.S. city to pass legislation requiring employers to provide earned sick leave to workers. Philadelphia’s City Council is currently considering a similar measure that provides paid sick leave for all city workers as well as workers of contracting firms hired by the city. This measure follows Philadelphia Mayor Nutter’s veto of a more comprehensive paid sick leave bill this summer.
Millions of Americans still do not have the option of taking a sick day to care for family members or themselves without putting their jobs, their healthcare benefits, or their family stability at risk. Two-thirds (64 percent) of women with children under six are in the labor force. Nationwide, 22.9 million families provide care for an adult family member or friend, and nearly 80 percent of those care recipients are over the age of 50.
AAUW works to advance policies that will improve workplaces for employees with family responsibilities of all kinds. Such protections and improvements are critical to breaking through educational and economic barriers for women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 16, 2011.