News Release

Secretary Sebelius To Deliver Remarks on How the Affordable Care Act Benefits Women and Families

Today, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will speak to the National Partnership for Women and Families about how the Affordable Care Act will benefit women.

“With the Affordable Care Act, we’re putting women back in control,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “When you look at the full range of women’s health needs and the full range of reforms in this new law, the Affordable Care Act is the best women’s health bill since Medicare.”

The Affordable Care Act makes it illegal to charge women extra for health insurance; creates a new, consumer-friendly health insurance market where all new plans will be required to cover essential health benefits like newborn care and maternity care; and eliminates co-pays for key preventive services like pap smears and mammograms. 

In addition, the new law protects Americans’ choice of doctors, including making sure women can visit their OB-GYNs without a referral and ensuring that co-payments do not rise if a patient gets taken to an emergency room that’s not in their insurance network; bans rescissions of coverage when people get sick and have previously made an unintentional mistake on their application; ends lifetime limits on benefits; and phases out annual limits on benefits.

Click here to read more about how the Affordable Care Act gives women greater control over their health care.

Read the Secretaries Remarks.

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Last revised: May 7, 2011