National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Ensure the needs of women and immigrants are addressed in health reform!

On Wednesday night, the Senate released their version of the health care reform bill.

While the Senate bill came out without language similar to the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House, which would essentially remove the coverage of abortion services in most private and public health insurance plans, we're pretty sure Senators are going to try and get it included in the final bill.

In the Senate version of the bill undocumented persons would not be allowed to purchase insurance policies through the exchange. This bill also leaves the five-year bar to legal immigrants accessing public benefits intact.

Do not be silent! We're asking all our allies to contact their Senators, urging them to pass comprehensive health care reform that meets the needs of women and immigrants.

We're asking for:

1. The removal of the five year bar, which prevents documented immigrants from accessing health care until they have been in the US for five years.

2. Undocumented Immigrants to be able to buy insurance on the public exchange with their own money.

3. The rejection of any language that mirrors the Stupak-Pitts Amendment from the House bill.

TAKE ACTION TODAY to urge your Senators not to leave out immigrant women and families.

You have two options:

1) Contact the Capital Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you to your Senator.

2) Send the email below to your Senators.

For more information on how you can take action for real health care reform, see our Bilingual Action Kit for Health Care Reform here.

>>Learn More

May 24, 2013

Subject:

Dear Senator

On November 7th, in an effort to advance health care reform, the House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill that will deeply impact the lives of Latinas, with provisions that could have serious effects on the health of women and immigrants.  Health care reform is important to our community, and we must not be left behind!

The final bill included the Stupak-Pitts amendment – an amendment that singled out and banned most abortions from all public and private health plans in the insurance exchange.  Under this amendment, women who think they may need an abortion in the future would be faced with the absurd choice of buying an additional "abortion rider" to their health insurance with their own funds for coverage.  Essentially, under the version of health care reform voted on in the House, women would have to plan for an unplanned pregnancy.  This is unacceptable! Latinas, immigrants, and women of color are disproportionately affected by the Stupak-Pitts amendment. Because women of color and immigrants are disproportionately poor, they are less likely to be able to pay for abortion care out-of-pocket, which puts them at risk of seeking alternative methods that are not supervised by a physician and are less safe.

We may not feel the same way about abortion, but the debate over health reform shouldn’t take away a woman’s decision-making ability and allow politicians to make decisions for her.  For the millions of women whose current plan covers abortion care, we should not break the promise of health care reform – we have worked too hard to reform our health care system for women to be worse off than they were before.

It is also imperative that the final bill include immigrant women. Over half of all immigrants are women, and 53% of all immigrants are from Latin America.  But if the final bill doesn’t recognize and appreciate the changing face of American demographics, it will be outdated before the President’s ink even dries. At a minimum, undocumented immigrants should be allowed to buy health insurance in the exchange and the 5-year ban for legal permanent residents to participate in programs like Medicaid should be lifted.  Medicaid reduces financial barriers that exist to provide essential reproductive health care services for low-income women. The exclusion of new immigrants from Medicaid is not only unjust, but also bad public health policy. Moreover, increased participation in the exchange will make insurance cheaper for everyone, and policies that do not allow undocumented persons to use their own money to buy insurance through the exchange are discriminatory, short-sighted, and damaging to everyone.

It is crucial that you oppose any Stupak-like language from the Senate bill.  We cannot continue to put women’s health on the line for politics.  This is not only unjust, but it is bad public health policy. It is also imperative for the Senate to follow in the House’s footsteps regarding undocumented immigrants’ ability to purchase insurance policies with their own money.  Lastly, legal permanent residents should no longer face the discriminatory five-year bar on important public benefits.

This is an historic moment – make sure that health care reform includes all of us!

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