“The Senate Republican health care bill would have an outsized effect on women’s health care nationwide. It would roll back significant progress we’ve made in expanding women’s access to the health care they need.
“It would block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding. Planned Parenthood in California treated 748,000 patients last year alone. And without Planned Parenthood, seven counties in California would be without a clinic that provides affordable access to comprehensive contraception care. Planned Parenthood is a critical health care provider for women in our state and nationwide.
“Prior to the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans often didn’t cover the care women needed. Under the Republican bill, we’d go back to those days. Services like maternity care, contraceptive coverage and mammograms would be no longer be guaranteed. Women could be forced to pay up to $1,000 per month for separate maternity coverage.
“The bill also attempts to blackmail California into abandoning our commitment to ensuring women’s access to reproductive health care. California requires insurance companies to cover the full range of reproductive health care services, including abortion care. This policy helps ensure that women are able to make their own health care decisions, with their families and doctors, free from political interference.
“The Senate bill—just like the House bill—would hold our state hostage by denying tax credits to Californians unless the state changes its law—even though the Affordable Care Act adheres to federal law. This is a punitive policy that would cause significant harm to women in California.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein