Obama’s health act benefiting Americans

Already the benefits from the President's Affordable Care Act, or “ObamaCare,” are starting to be known and felt. They range from saving millions of taxpayer dollars on Medicare and Medicaid to covering students under their parents' plans until they are 26.

The benefit I am most thrilled about is that insurers can no longer deny care on the basis of pre-existing conditions, having had a lifelong pre-existing condition.

Access to affordable birth control is something that every woman in America should have. Starting this month, insurance providers are covering birth control without costly co-pays, which for some women can be $600 a year. That money will help pay for other expenses such as child care, gas, groceries and bills. Most important, expanding access to no-cost birth control to millions of American women also means that when a woman decides that she is ready to start a family, it will be a choice and not by force or accident.

Among the new benefits are well-woman visits, screening for gestational diabetes, counseling and screenings for HIV, screening and counseling for domestic violence, increased access to birth control, counseling for sexually transmitted infections, HPV testing and breastfeeding support. Margaret Sanger would be thrilled, caring for so many women. Good stuff, ObamaCare.

Susan Norman

Cedar Rapids