What's Needed in Healthcare Reform for Women and Children

How's this for a reality show? Slightly disheveled, sleep deprived moms go up against pinstriped corporate lobbyists to fight for real healthcare reform that benefits women and children.

It's not exactly Survivor, but MomsRising.org (the website "where moms and people who love them go to change our world") is betting that a groundswell of grassroots support (and a lot of letters to Congress) will steer legislators toward supporting much-needed policy change.

Sure, I know...talk of healthcare reform is complex and can make your head spin. But MomsRising breaks it down into simple terms that they hope is a call to action:

Congress is deciding whether or not to give the public access to a "public health" insurance plan option as part of healthcare reform. A public health insurance plan option is just that - an option. Families who like their current private health insurance plan can keep things exactly how they are now. But families who don't have access to another health insurance plan would have the option to be covered under a public health insurance plan.

Women, in particular, need a public insurance option because they are less likely to get health insurance through their jobs and more than twice as likely as men to get employer-sponsored coverage through their spouses. And as the economy worsens, many employers are reducing healthcare coverage for dependents, leaving millions of women and children at risk.

Why are insurance companies so nervous about a public plan option? Well, for one, they'll finally have some real competition. Currently, of the 3,500 individual insurance market policies examined by the National Women's Law Center, just 12 percent offered comprehensive maternity coverage, and nearly two-thirds did not cover maternity at all. A public plan would give women and families a real choice in a market where nine out of ten "competitors" aren't offering the coverage they need, and will be a guaranteed backup for all Americans.

Congress needs to hear from the public now because insurance companies have begun aggressively lobbying against the public plan option. They need to hear from real people like you and me.

Coverage for dependents and maternity coverage -- two issues that are crucial to many women and families. That's what MomsRising is pushing for in supporting a public health insurance plan option. Want to get on board and make your voice heard? MomsRising makes it easy to contact your legislators with an online form.

More on healthcare reform from Patient Empowerment Guide Trisha Torrey:

• Understanding Healthcare Reform
• Why the US Needs Healthcare Reform
• Why the Insured Are Paying for Those Who Are Uninsured

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