Republican Alternative to Obamacare Strips Away Maternity Care

Since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, Republicans have been squawking about their intentions to repeal the legislation that’s extended healthcare benefits to 15 million Americans who were previously uninsured.

What a noble goal, you conservative werewolves!

With no counter legislation to put in place of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Republican threat of dismantling the law has never really seemed to be more than rhetoric. So in a bid to add credibility to their threat three Republican lawmakers, Sen. Richard Burr (NC), Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT), and Rep. Fred Upton (MI) unveiled a healthcare plan—dubbed the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment (CARE) Act — that they would put into place once they rid the country of Obamacare.

The CARE Act looks a lot like Mitt Romney’s healthcare proposal during the 2012 election. It’s a dream list of more price-sharing schemas that aim to drive down costs by forcing consumers to put more skin in the game. The rationale being that the more financial risk and burden consumers have to take on, the better their choices will be about how they spend their healthcare dollars.

The proposed CARE Act would also scrap the advances made in women’s healthcare. Under the proposed legislation there would be:

No More Required Maternity Care Coverage

Before the ACA, 62 percent of plans offered by the private insurance market did not cover maternity care. Being pregnant was largely considered a pre-existing condition like cancer or diabetes in the private insurance market. Under the ACA, all healthcare plans have to offer maternity care benefits so women didn’t go bankrupt or avoid pre-natal care because they chose life. Under the Republicans’ proposal, insurance companies can choose to offer maternity care, or not, whatevsies. I’m sure whatever those insurance companies decide to do will be in the best interest of women’s health! Love those guys!

Ban on Price Discrimination Against Women: Gone.

Before the ACA, insurers could use your gender as a way to determine your premium cost. Like if you were a smoker, overweight, or a woman, in the eyes of an insurer you had more risk than normal people/men so they could charge you more money. In 2009, the National Women’s Law Center found that a 25 year-old woman could be charged 84 % more than a 25 year-old man with the exact same healthcare plan. This practice is called Gender Rating and it is banned under the ACA. In the Republican proposal, there is no such ban.

No More Contraception Coverage

Health insurers and employers would no longer offer birth control coverage. Fuck yes! A society that operates on the principles espoused by Hobby Lobby seems both rational and chill! The arbiters of women’s sexual health should be heavily influenced by a chain store that specializes in decorative distressed clocks and BULK GLITTER.