We love Mama Care too! And by Mama care, we’re talking about what some may call ObamaCare. But on Mother’s Day, let’s talk about the law for what it really is for moms and families – Mama Care.
Mama Care means that mothers, who make up to 80% of the health care decisions for their families, will have some well-deserved help. Here are just a few of the ways the law is helping out:
• Preventive Care to ensure that moms and their families get timely access to preventive health care services, without concern for out-of-pocket costs. Some of those services include pap smears, family planning and birth control, mammograms, annual well-women visits, screening for gestational diabetes, and much more.
• Protection against discriminatory health insurance practices that made being a woman a pre-existing condition, and protecting the future of Medicare so that it’s there for grandmothers when they need it.
• Security in knowing that our policies can’t get canceled when we get sick and need them the most, and from having the option to keep adult children on mom’s (or dad’s) health insurance plan until they’re 26.To make it real, I think about my own mom. She didn’t have maternity coverage in her health insurance plan when she had my brother. She was in and out of the hospital in less than 24 hours because she paid for everything out-of-pocket. Even in 2009, out of 130 plans available to 30 year old women in the individual market in Wisconsin NONE covered maternity care. And less than one-quarter of those plans even offed a maternity rider. However, I know that when I decide to start my own family – I will have maternity coverage. It is an essential health benefit under MammaCare.
We owe so much to our mothers – for caring for us, protecting us, and keeping us safe. This Mother’s Day, which also officially begins National Women’s Health Week, let’s celebrate things that make it easier for them – happy Mama Care day!
To follow a week’s worth of blogs celebrating National Women’s Health week and how Mama Care is working for Wisconsin families – follow the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health’s blog.
Sara Eskrich
