Lauren Bacans, a Planned Parenthood field organizer for Livingston and Washtenaw counties, gave an informational lecture in the Student Center on Wednesday as part of Planned Parenthood’s initiative to help people become acquainted with the opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, and was upheld by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012. The provisions of the ACA will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
Bacans provided free condoms for her audience as well as several flyers containing information about sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex and the ACA.
She summarized the Planned Parenthood mission statement, highlighting their goals to protect and enhance the ability of affiliates, to deliver comprehensive reproductive health care and provide safe sex education.
“The lecture was very informative,” EMU freshman Crystal Jones said.. “I really only hear about the ACA in the news where they’re arguing more than helping people understand it. I was very surprised by the STD benefits of the act.”
When it takes effect in January 2014, the ACA will require that insurance companies allow their customers access to essential health benefits. These essential health benefits include a number of services from prescription drug coverage and chronic disease management to hospital and maternity and newborn care.
“One of the most helpful things is probably the minimum essential coverage,” Bacans said. “It standardizes all insurance and makes insurance plans provide comprehensive care to everyone on their plans. It includes benefits for everyone regardless of health status.”
She said that some benefits provided by the ACA are specific to women’s health care, like birth control, mammograms and maternity care.
Bacans said that this act will help keep people out of emergency rooms because they will have access to customer-friendly insurance information and insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny care because of a preexisting condition.
She said that “being a woman” will no longer be a preexisting condition. Insurance companies often charge women 1.5 times more than men, but they will be unable to do so anymore under the ACA.
Bacans said that right now, women can be denied care because of previous pregnancies, C-section or a history of domestic violence, but the ACA will disallow this practice.
“It [was] a huge wow for me when I found out that being a woman was a preexisting condition,”
EMU sophomore Lamara Lusane said. “I’m happy that they changed it.”
Bacans addressed many myths surrounding the ACA, one of which was that people could only get the new type of health insurance through the website, healthcare.gov. She said that this is not true and that people can also get insurance in person and over the phone.
“Planned Parenthood is here to help with enrollment,” she said. “It’s important that people know that Planned Parenthood is here to help those who are having trouble understanding it and to find the best plan for your needs.”
