Overview
Access to health insurance coverage is a critical issue for women. Overall, women are higher users of health care resources than men due to reproductive health needs, maternity care, and longer life expectancies. Recent research has shown that those women with health insurance coverage are more likely to obtain needed preventive, primary, and specialty care services. Further, the U.S. Department of Labor has found that women make 80 percent of health care decisions for their families, underscoring their critical importance in engaging with the health care system.
Health insurance providers are committed to providing women with the full continuum of reproductive health care services. These services encompass prevention (e.g., contraception) and screening, as well as maternity and pre- and post-partum health. There are currently 61 million women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 44) in the United States and, often, reproductive health care services evolve over time to meet an individual member’s needs.