Health care enrollment begins soon

To the editor:

Open enrollment for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act begins in about three weeks. While the act provides protections and health care coverage for all Alaskans, Alaskan women particularly benefit from its requirement that insurance plans finally cover the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception methods and stop insurance discrimination, “gender rating” against women.

These requirements genuinely support improved quality of life for all Alaskan women, but especially Alaska’s abnormally high population of battered women, as the law will effectively increase opportunities for them to achieve independence from abusive partners.

Gov. Sean Parnell decided Alaska would be the only state of 50 that would not apply in 2010 for up to $1 million in act planning grants. Despite that, the federal government has our back and is seeing to it that Alaskans get the information we need to meet the law’s requirements in our best interests.

I urge all Alaskans to call (800) 318-2596 or visit healthcare.gov for information and support regarding participation in the very humane Affordable Care Act program.

Barbara McDaniel, President

Alaska National Organization for Women

Wasilla