October marks National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and thanks to the newly implemented Obamacare, young women like me have access to preventive care and health exams that can help identify abnormalities and potential cancer early, when they are most treatable.
These things can be expensive, and now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I don’t have to delay checkups and preventive care because of the cost.
Twenty-seven million currently insured women have already benefited from access to fully covered women’s preventive services, including breast exams and mammograms. When the law goes into full effect, 47 million women will be insured. Additionally, Americans under the age of 26 can now stay on their parents’ health plan, thanks to Obamacare.
The law also means that health insurance plans will no longer be able to deny anyone coverage based on pre-existing conditions, like breast cancer. This will help women who have overcome breast cancer continue medical care for greater health in the future, without fear of losing insurance coverage or bankrupting them.
Every woman deserves access to lifesaving cancer screenings from trusted health care providers, and thanks to Obamacare, they’ll do so without fear of looming debt. That’s why I’m standing with Planned Parenthood for National Breast Cancer Awareness month to say: Obamacare works. It works for young women like me and we’re not going to let coverage be taken away.
_—Melissa A. Needles,_
_man8b4@mail.missouri.edu_