Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/medicaid/page/2/)
As unemployment rises more women are turning to COBRA for health insurance coverage, but discovering it’s either too expensive or not available. Women who shop for individual insurance often face higher rates due to “gender rating,” a recent study found.
Obama has taken the first legislative steps necessary to help women regain control of their reproductive rights. But Frances Kissling says that only brings us to a point where reproductive rights progress got stalled, more than 20 years ago.
In Jordan, Falak Jamaani won her seat in parliament without relying on the quota system that reserves six seats for women. Activists say her victory is an important milestone of women’s gradual inroads to political representation.
As postwar Burundi prepares for a reconciliation process based on South Africa’s, women’s rights advocates say the first step must be bringing the perpetrators of sexual violence to justice. Third in a series on African women and the rule of law.
Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26 is not just a celebration for women. Rob Okun says the day gives men a chance to follow the leadership of women on many fronts and further their own independence.
Millions of women stand to gain from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s plan to make sure all California residents have health insurance. But it’s not necessarily a cure-all for those who run small businesses or are in middle- to low-income brackets.
(WOMENSENEWS)Cheer:A group of doctors is sharing first-hand memories of either performing or playing some role in providing illegal abortions back in the days before the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that made abortions legal, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health said Friday in a press release. With the future of legal abortion uncertain, the group wants to stress the dangers of returning to a time when women are forced to undergo unsafe procedures.”This Supreme Court nomination may be the most important one in our lifetimes. We’re speaking out because we know what’s at stake,” said one of the physicians in the statement. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s surprise retirement announcement last week has led many pro-choice groups to quickly mobilize to protect legal abortion.
Sued by nonprofit hospitals for medical bills they cannot pay, uninsured patients are filing class-actions against health care facilities they say violate their nonprofit status by overcharging needy patients–a practice they say targets women unfairly.
(WOMENSENEWS)–CheersThe Senate dealt a major blow Thursday to President Bush’s plans to reduce the deficit by sharply cutting federal spending on a wide array of government programs, including many that aid women and children.Democrats and moderate Republicans banded together to strip language from the fiscal 2006 budget resolution cutting entitlement spending by $15 billion, most of which was expected to come from Medicaid, the government-subsidized health insurance program. Instead, the Senate agreed to establish a commission that would study ways to slow the program’s growth.”We shouldn’t risk the health of millions for the sake of expediency,” Sen. Gordon Smith, a Republican from Oregon who sponsored the amendment, said in a statement. “A short delay will allow a full study and ensure that any changes improve Medicaid’s sustainability while maintaining access to care.”Senators also rejected proposed cuts in health care, education, community development and other programs before passing their final version late Thursday.The vote sets up a battle between the Senate and the House, which approved budget resolution with the program cuts on the same day. House and Senate negotiators will attempt to resolve their differences in conference committees later this year.Other reasons to Cheer:–The House of Representatives approved an amendment last week to an emergency supplemental spending bill that would send $3 million in aid to pregnant women who were victims of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia late last year. The $3 million would represent about 11 percent of the total amount requested by the UNFPA to meet the immediate needs of tsunami victims, according to a statement issued by one of the amendment’s chief sponsors, New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
The proposal for the federal budget for 2006 released this week contains billions of dollars of cuts in Medicaid funding and a restructuring of the health care program that would put millions of American women at risk.