On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or Affordable Care Act) into law. This historic bill includes significant improvements for Asian Pacific Islander (API) women and girls, such as banning insurance companies from discriminating against women by denying care based on preexisting conditions. NAPAWF advocated for the inclusion of women of color during the debate on passage of PPACA and continues to advocate on behalf of women of color and immigrant women in the ongoing struggle to ensure complete implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Access to quality, comprehensive primary and reproductive health care is an important founding platform for NAPAWF. As such, NAPAWF is a co-leader of the Women of Color United for Health Care Reform (WOCUHR) coalition, co-chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americas (NCAPA) Health Committee, and a member of numerous national coalitions seeking to ensure access to health care for immigrants and access to comprehensive reproductive health care for women.

This page will be continually updated with NAPAWF’s implementation efforts for PPACA, so feel free to visit frequently!

Fact Sheets and Issue Briefs

Women

• Women’s Preventive Services and Religious Institutions (White House)
• NAPAWF Statement on Institute of Medicine Recommendations
• Preventive Services Covered by Private Health Plans under ACA (Kaiser Family Foundation)
• What Women Could Lose (by the National Women’s Law Center)
• Giving Women Greater Control of Their Own Health Care (by the Federal Administration)
• Protective Measures Through Affordable Care Act (by the National Women’s Law Center)

Asian/Pacific Islanders

• API Women and Health Care Reform Issue Brief (by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum on 08/10)
• Health Coverage and API Women Factsheet (by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum on 04/08)

State Implementation

• How ACA Affects Small Businesses and Employees (Kaiser Family Foundation)
• New Issue Brief Examines Multi-State Health Insurance Exchanges (by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
• Selecting Plans to Participate in an Exchange: State Guide (by Families USA)
• Price of Repealing PPACA for States (by Department of Health and Human Services)
• Impact on Communities of Color (by Families USA)
• Impact on Women (by the National Women’s Law Center)

NAPAWF Health Care Advocacy

Comment Letters written by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum

• Comments on Changes to the Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs (1/11)
• Comments on National Prevention and Healthy Promotion Strategy (1/11)
• Comments on what should be included in the essential health benefits package (12/10)
• Comments on Existing National Standards for the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (12/10)
• Comments on Shared Savings Program and the development of potential models for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (12/10)
• NCAPA Health Committee comments on transparency for projects approved under section 1115 of the Social Security Act (11/10)
• Comments on planning of the state-based American Health Benefit Exchanges (10/10)
• Comments on National Strategy and Plan for improving health care quality in the United States (10/10)
• Comments Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (9/10)

Sign-Ons joined by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum

• Organizational Support for Coverage of Birth Control (2/11)
• Planned Parenthood Support Letter (2/11)
• Vote NO on Repealing the Affordable Care Act (1/11)
• Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Program (09/10)
• Family Planning Coalition letter to defend Title X and Health Care Reform Prevention Fund (5/10)

Defending the Affordable Care Act

• Affordable Health Care Under Attack – What’s at Stake? (by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum on 4/11)
• Community Health Centers Create Jobs! (3/11)
• National Women’s Law Center Amicus Brief for ACA Litigation (3/11)
• NAPAWF Opposes Smith Bill Statement (by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum on 2/11)
• Lawsuits Challenging PPACA to Move Forward (10/10)

Passage of Health Care Reform (documents written by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and our allies)

• Letter to Secretary Sebelius of the Health and Human Services Department on Abortion Ban (09/10)
• WOC United for Health Reform Principles for Health Reform (10/09)
• WOC United for Health Reform Factsheet on WOC and Health Reform (10/09)
• HHS Joint Comments in Support of Repealing Provider Conscience Regulations (04/09)
• Letter to Obama-Biden Transition Team on Improving API Women’s Health (01/09)
• HHS Comments Opposing “Conscience Refusal” Rule (09/08)
• Reproductive Health Disparities Joint Testimony (06/08)