What President Obama may Do for Women's Health

Many women’s health activists are happy about Barack Obama’s recent election victory, hoping that he’ll reverse at least some of the health policies put in place by the Bush administration. Planned Parenthood President, Cecile Richards predicted a few changes she hoped would take place once the Obama administration took office and started the country’s healthcare policies on the right foot again.

One of Barack Obama’s early promises was to do away with federally-funded abstinence-only education programs. He was one of the original co-sponsors of the Prevention First Act which stated that all federal sex-education programs must be medically accurate with up-to-date information on contraception. This will likely be one of the topics that the new Congress will be bringing forward.

Undoing Bush’s Mistakes

On George W. Bush’s first day in office back in 2001, he instituted a global gag rule which restricted foreign health clinics receiving federal funds from performing abortions or even providing referrals or counseling on the subject to patients asking for the information. The Obama administration will most likely be taking away this gag rule and allowing that information, as well as other family planning services, to flow more freely to those who need it.

It’s also hoped that gender disparities when it comes to paying for health insurance policies will also be addressed under the new Obama administration. Recent studies have found that women are generally charged up to 48% more for individual health policies as compared to men of the same age and health background. Women’s groups are upset that this difference in cost has been going on for years and shows no signs of abating if left unchecked by government controls.

The Obama administration has also made promises to address the need for better medical plan coverage for contraception and pregnancy costs. The plan would help to force drug insurers to cover the cost of birth control pills, as they would any other drug. More comprehensive prenatal coverage would also be possible. As it is, many women have to pay up to $5,000 in hospital and drug costs to have a baby.