Introduction
In the United States, there have been a number of health policies targeting largely the women. Some of them have been implemented, but the weighty ones have not been fully addressed. This means that vital health policies are not comprehensively implemented. Some health policies have passed several years and from one government to another.
The Reproductive bill has attracted storms from all corners of the nation as one government promises some drastic changes while another twist the same changes. The following discussion will provide an in-depth analysis of one such policy still under contradiction, its intended effects, and the general views about the benefits that the policy will have on women heath. The equality that is intended to be achieved by the same bill will also be highlighted.
Reproductive policy
In the year 2006, there was a heated debate in the Congress on whether women in the United States should be allowed to legally carry out abortion. It was agreed that a further discussion will be held to provide a solution on the same. Partial Birth abortion Act is the recent Act that has been put in place. This means that women will have access to abortion services, though this will be limited. However, a majority of women have been fighting for exclusive rights while seeking freedom of choice (Salganicoff, 2007).
The federal government is not ready to splash millions of dollars to facilitate contraception but rather encourages sexual education to the women fraternity, and especially the low-income earners.
The federal government is however encouraging women access to medical insurance (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012a). The government is willing to pay part of the insurance lump sum while women regard it as a sole government responsibility. In recent times, there has been reported increase in women cooperation to contribute to the insurance premiums (Salganicoff, 2007).
According to the article titled ‘Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age’, abortion deteriorates with age and the effects are often felt at later stages in life. This is only made worse in cases where women have excessive use of alcohol and tobacco and have heart diseases, infections or diseases related to productive organs.
Women are unable to tend to the health insurance premiums since they have kept on being adjusted upward for the last four consecutive years. A majority of women in the United States own small businesses with small incomes. Hence they are unable to cater for their own premiums and that of their employees. In 2007, there were 35 million uninsured American women. The number has increased to 50 million (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2010).
Limitation of the health care policy
The policy does not address the needs of low income earners. Neither the President nor Congressional Senate of last year addressed the issue with finality. Women are of the feeling that the policy will leave them in a very poor state of economy. Older women are at high risk of missing the required level of medical attention since they are old and have limited access to income.
The government laments the harsh economic crisis and tries all means to raise the level of national income. This is at the expense of women whose health will be jeopardized. The policymakers are currently pushing for a policy that will see to it that even the uninsured ones have access to health insurance benefits (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012b).
Conclusion
There is no doubt that health policy affecting women has come a long way and there is still more to be done. It is important that health policy on women should be handled with the seriousness that it deserves to assure this section of the population of quality health. Therefore, the government has no choice but to prioritize health policies touching on women health.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (2010). Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age. Web.
Salganicoff, A. (2007). Women’s Health policy: Are the Times Really A-Changing? Women’s Health Issues 17, 274–276.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, (2012a). Women’s Health Policy. Web.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, (2012b). Medicaid’s Role for Women across the Lifespan: Current Issues and the Impact of the Affordable Care Act. Web.