Women are often the health care decision-makers in their families and communities, making approximately 80% of family health care choices. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report, they also choose their children's doctors (85%), take them to appointments (84%) and ensure they get recommended care (79%). They stretch and re-work their family budgets to pay doctors’ bills. Before the Affordable Care Act, some women put their dream careers on hold to take jobs just for the health benefits. Others struggled to pay for basic preventive care.
Nearly 70% of women use social networking sites, where they influence the health care decisions of the women in their online communities and those of their families. In a recent report, nearly half of consumers said social media-derived information would affect their health care decisions.
Women are influencing health care decisions in other ways, too - they share, and seek advice on, the quality, safety, accessibility and overall consumer experience at physicians’ offices and hospitals. Fully 40% of consumers have looked for reviews of physicians, treatments, and general patient experiences. And having a chronic disease significantly increases a patient’s probability of both contributing and consuming that peer-generated content.
By harnessing women’s health care decision-making leadership, we can tap into peer-to-peer health care - which offers a gateway for hospitals to win hearts, minds and new patients.
The ACA is now working to empower women to take control of their health and budgets by making quality health insurance more affordable and accessible through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
The ability to get affordable, quality coverage is changing the lives of women across the United States. Women whose family couldn’t find affordable health insurance. Sometimes, families can’t get any insurance at all because of family members who had pre-existing conditions.
With the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can’t turn them down because of pre-existing conditions. And woman are getting covered by a plan with a premium that is half what they were paying before.
“I’ve launched my small business and can focus on expanding it because I now can afford health coverage for my entire family,” said Betsey Furler, a Houston mom and small business owner. “And we no longer live in fear of the next hospital bill.”
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, young women are also empowered to take control of their health. They're discovering that they really can afford quality coverage.
The Affordable Care Act is already working to help millions of women access affordable, quality health care. Open enrollment through the Marketplace began again on November 15. If you previously signed up for coverage through the Marketplace, you should return to HealthCare.gov, update your application, and compare your options to enroll in the plan that best meets your needs for 2015 coverage.