What’s at Stake for Obamacare in the 2016 Election?

We’re at a crossroads in America: We’re either going to continue to make leaps forward on health care access — or we’re going to roll backward more than 50 years. The 2016 election will decide which way we go as a nation.

This winter, we saw just how low lawmakers will go in their attempts to deny Americans — especially women — access to health care. Just days after an unimaginable tragedy at a Colorado Planned Parenthood health center, out-of-touch members of Congress voted to gut the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood. Thankfully, President Obama did what he’s done so many times before: He protected access to care, and rejected this dangerous legislation. But the fact that this bill passed the Senate is a stark reminder of what’s at stake in the next election.

What Obamacare Has Meant for Women

Today, millions of women, families, and young people are benefiting from Obamacare, and millions more will benefit as the law continues to be implemented. Lest we take it for granted, remember: The ACA has been a game changer for women. Before the ACA, millions of women were denied coverage because of so-called “pre-existing conditions,” like breast cancer, pregnancy, or domestic abuse; some were forced to pay more for insurance just because they were women; and some were only allowed limited plans that excluded any coverage for any health concerns they already had. What’s more, women faced limits on the amount of coverage they could use in their lifetime, so one serious illness could mean bankruptcy.

In the days before Obamacare became law, many women had to pay out-of-pocket for basic preventive health care, like cancer screenings, Pap tests, and birth control — costing them hundreds of dollars a year or more. In fact, before the ACA’s birth control benefit went into effect, contraception accounted for  30% to 44% of women’s out-of-pocket health care costs.

Because of all this, for too many women, the health care they needed was out of reach. But the ACA helped change that. One of the most immediate changes for women was the ACA’s birth control benefit, which ensured that more than 55 million women now have birth control without a copay, and helped women save an estimated $1.4 billion on the pill in the ACA’s first year alone.

Time to Elect Another Pro-Women’s Health President

We won’t go back to an era where women paid more for health care simply because of their gender. That’s why Planned Parenthood Action Fund and our supporters are fighting to elect a president who will protect the health care law.

Everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have, should have access to basic health care. But too often, an ally in the White House has been the only thing protecting access to health care for millions of Americans. We need to make sure the next president will be a champion for health care access. We need to elect lawmakers who can do more than lob attack after attack on health care for millions of Americans.

Where the Candidates Stand on Obamacare

Unfortunately, every leading GOP candidate has advocated for a repeal to the ACA, including its protections against being charged more for being a woman or being denied coverage for preexisting conditions that in the past even included domestic violence abuse — many, such as Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz, have specifically targeted access to no-copay birth control.

Here’s everything you need to know about where the presidential candidates stand on Obamacare:

• Jeb Bush wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Ben Carson wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit.  Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Chris Christie wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Hillary Clinton strongly supports the ACA, including its provision that ensures coverage for birth control with no co-pay. She is solidly in our corner!

• Ted Cruz wants to repeal the ACA, and its historic advancements for women, and even orchestrated the government shutdown in 2013 over Obamacare in his attempt to repeal the health care law.

• Carly Fiorina wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Mike Huckabee wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• John Kasich wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Martin O'Malley supports the ACA, including its provisions to ensure coverage for birth control with no co-pay. He’s in our corner!

• George Pataki wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Marco Rubio wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Bernie Sanders supports the ACA, including its provision ensuring coverage for birth control with no co-pay. He’s in our corner!

• Rick Santorum wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

• Donald Trump wants to repeal the ACA and its historic advancements for women, including the birth control benefit. wants to repeal the ACA. Has no plans to keep new protections in place.

Tags: Obamacare, Election 2016