Health Care Reform

It is clear there is a health care crisis in this country: nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured and an additional 25 million have insurance but lack sufficient access to services. Planned Parenthood’s nearly 880 health centers nationwide are helping to meet the growing need for affordable health care, yet more than 17 million women still need publicly funded family planning services.

As a nationally recognized health care provider and advocate with millions of supporters, Planned Parenthood is well positioned to influence the health care reform activities that will be developed by the new president, members of Congress, governors, and state legislators.

Women’s Health Matters: Planned Parenthood’s Agenda to Ensure Health Care for All includes priorities, essential benefits, and background materials that advocate for health care that meets everyone’s needs.

• Priorities in Health Care Reform — Planned Parenthood believes that any health care reform proposal must guarantee
  • affordable and high-quality health care, including comprehensive reproductive health care, for all
  • direct access, including self-referral, to trusted reproductive health care providers of choice
  • a sufficient supply of adequately compensated providers
  • investment in preventive services as a top health care priority
  • tangible efforts to reduce health care disparities

We have specific recommendations to make health care more affordable, accessible, comprehensive, of higher quality, and culturally competent.

• List of Essential Benefits  — Any health care reform effort must provide comprehensive health care benefits, including preventive care, reproductive health care, and pregnancy-related services.

• The U.S. Health Care System: An Overview — Health care in the United States is driven by a patchwork of services and financing, which meets the needs of many Americans, but leaves millions of others without access to the care and services they need to stay healthy.

• The Case for Health Care Reform —
  • Health care is becoming increasingly UNAFFORDABLE.
  • Health care is INACCESSIBLE for millions, many of whom have insurance.
  • The U.S. continues to rank far below many countries on HEALTH CARE QUALITY.
  • A lack of access to COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES subjects millions to needless suffering and more health care costs down the road.
  • CULTURALLY INAPPROPRIATE CARE presents barriers to health care.

Join the Planned Parenthood Action Network and learn what you can do to ensure access to quality, affordable health care for all!