Tag Archive for "Health care"

Posts Tagged Health care

Tell Congress that 15 years is way too long for immigrant women to wait for affordable health care

Ed. note: This is a guest post by Juliana Britto Schwartz. By day, Juliana is a student at University of California, Santa Cruz. By night, she is a Latina feminist blogger at Julianabritto.com, where she writes about reproductive health justice, immigration, and feminist movements in Latin America.

By now you’ve probably heard a bit about the immigration reform bill that the Senate has proposed. You’ve probably heard about the increased spending on border security it contains (regardless of the fact that our border is the most secure it’s ever been), as well as the proposed increase in employment-based visas, particularly for skilled workers. You may also know that the bill allows DREAMers (immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before the age of ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

New report shows immigrants are about twice as likely to be uninsured

Ed. note: This is a guest post from Verónica Bayetti Flores. Verónica is the Assistant Director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program (CLPP) at Hampshire College. She has worked to increase access to contraception and abortion, fought for paid sick leave, demanded access to safe public space for queer youth of color, and helped to lead social justice efforts in Wisconsin, New York City, and Texas.

Last week, the Guttmacher Institute published a history and overview of policies that impact immigrants’ access to health care, and in particular reproductive and sexual health care. It’s definitely a piece for the policy nerds, but it makes some critical points about the ways anti-immigrant sentiment has shaped access ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: Gosnell’s clinic and the cost of dignity in health care

As we’ve already mentioned, the conservative claims of a liberal media “blackout” surrounding the trial of Kermit Gosnell are totally ridiculous. Feminist bloggers and journalists, including us, have been covering this terrible story from the beginning. Our own Lori wrote an article in the Grio two years ago on the racial segregation of Gosnell’s clinic and what this story says about safe abortion access for low-income women of color.

It’s a point that’s echoed in this excellent piece by Erin Grant:

But this case is about more than just a practitioner who did bad things. His case embodies the “off-the-grid” abortions we can expect to see in states like Mississippi and North ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: California bans insurance discrimination against trans* patients

As of yesterday, insurance companies in California can no longer discriminate against trans* patients, an essential step forward in light of the tremendous health disparities between trans* and cis people in the U.S. The Transgender Law Center reports:

California’s Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has issued guidance clarifying the obligations of California’s health plans under the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act (see below) In a groundbreaking directive to health plans, the DMHC confirmed that California’s Insurance Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, authored by former Assemblymember Paul Koretz, guarantees all people the right to access coverage for medically necessary care regardless of their gender identity or gender expression. The directive also provides that patients who are denied ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Total(ly awesome, trans rights) frat move

The Emerson College chapter of Phi Alpha Tau definitely wins my (highly prestigious) award for Best Frat Ever. The brothers have raised over $8,100 for a gender-confirming surgery for member Donnie Collins. It’s inexcusable that Donnie’s insurance refused to cover his procedure, and many people don’t have supportive institutions to turn to when money is low. Still, it’s incredibly heartening to his friends’ efforts, particularly given fraternities’ historical dependence on strict gender policing.

For all the symbolic value, though, Donnie’s “thank you” video reminds us that, at the end of the day, this is about a real person now able to live his life the way he wants:

Donnie is donating excess funds raised to the Jim Collins Foundation, a non-profit ...

By Lori Adelman • 11 years ago

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: 5 Things You Can Do

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I could (and will, sigh, later in the post) cite some scary and infuriating statistics about the presence of HIV/AIDS in the black community. It’s true that HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects people of color, not only in the U.S. but around the world. And there are a number of reasons for that, not the least of which are the pervasive, systemic racism, classism, and sexism baked into our institutions including healthcare. But when I think of the pain in my community around this topic the first thing that comes to mind is the work of the brilliant Lani Buinier and Gerald Torres:

“Race, for us, is like the miner’s canary. Miners often carried a canary ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Breaking: Obama administration proposes new contraception mandate policy

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has just announced the White House’s new proposal to maintain American women’s access to contraception without co-pays while appeasing employers who object to providing such insurance on religious grounds.

The new rules would expand what organizations can qualify for the previously-established religious exemption but, like previous iterations of the policy, shifts the cost of the coverage to insurers rather than birth control users.

Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, expressed tentative approval of the proposal. She said in a statement:

This policy delivers on the promise of women having access to birth control without co-pays no matter where they work. Of course, we are reviewing the ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

OB/GYNs call for the pill to be available over-the-counter

This could be a game-changer, right? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that oral contraceptives should be available without a prescription.

Cost, access, and convenience issues are common reasons why women do not use contraception or use it inconsistently. There are no OCs currently approved for OTC access, but The College believes OTC availability will improve women’s access to and usage of contraception. The benefits of making OCs easily accessible OTC outweigh the risks, says The College.

It’s pretty ridiculous that this hasn’t already happened. Oh wait, I’m sorry–I forgot for a second that a vocal minority lives in an alternate universe where contraception doesn’t prevent unintended pregnancies and is, in fact, murder, or a

This could be a game-changer, right? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that oral contraceptives should be available without a prescription.

Cost, access, and convenience issues are common reasons why women do not use ...