Essential Access Health

Marriage equality is on the ballot in California, and you can help spread the word ✊🏳️🌈 Join the upcoming virtual text banking event with our YHES4Condoms ambassadors! Friday, November 1st | 5-7 PM PT Let’s work together to protect the fundamental right to marry for ALL 💜💜 Sign up here ✍✅⚡: https://lnkd.in/gqidHAeb #YesOnProp3CA #FreedomToMarryCA

The maternal mortality rate in Texas surged by 56% since the state’s near-total abortion ban in 2021, far outpacing the national increase of 11%. This is not a coincidence. The abortion ban in Texas is a primary driver of this alarming rise in maternal mortality, according to the Gender Equity Policy Institute. And a recent SCOTUS ruling, which allows the state to keep enforcing its abortion ban even in emergencies, further exacerbates this crisis. Abortion bans don’t just limit reproductive freedom—they endanger lives. We will continue to prioritize health, safety, and access to care for ALL.

A new proposed rule by the Biden-Harris Administration would require insurance coverage for over-the-counter (OTC) contraceptives. This is a big deal! Cost is a huge barrier to accessing OTC contraception. This rule would mean more people could access birth control like emergency contraception and Opill without a copay. Expanding access to contraception is critical to ensuring reproductive autonomy! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecwG_uzW

We are excited to announce that Ruohan Hong, MPH, has joined Essential Access Health as a Study Coordinator! Ruohan recently earned a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and is embarking on a career in clinical research. Her research experience includes analyzing income's effects on sleep quality, evaluating serological indicators of HIV-1 recent infection, examining public health factors related to malaria in Malawi, and exploring the relationship between sociological factors and PTSD severity for Rwandan genocide survivors. Prior to joining Essential Access, Ruohan was a vaccine quality control analyst at GlaxoSmithKline where she conducted analysis for batch data and monitored vaccine quality for over 3000+ reports. Welcome to the team, Ruohan!

ICYMI: The Biden-Harris Administration proposes the largest expansion of birth control coverage in more than a decade 👏🔥👏🔥 The proposed rule enhances birth control coverage benefits and requirements nationwide – including coverage of over-the-counter birth control methods w/o out of pocket costs – for millions of Americans with private health insurance. Everyone, everywhere deserves equitable access to birth control ✊🩵 Read our full statement: https://lnkd.in/gEzBemZp

Almost 4 in 10 US abortion patients will not discover they are pregnant until 6 weeks or later, according to our new data. This means people living in states with 6-week bans may not be able to get the essential health care they need in their communities. To clear a misconception: Learning about a pregnancy before 6 weeks doesn’t guarantee anyone’s ability to have an abortion before a 6-week limit. It takes time to decide, find a provider, get funding and schedule an appointment. All of this is much harder to do in the current US landscape, where 13 states have total bans, pushing abortion even further out of reach—especially for those who already face the most significant obstacles to care. More in our latest analysis: https://gu.tt/4867hG9

Today was one to remember! What an honor to stand side by side with Secretary Becerra and other champions to celebrate the Biden-Harris administration’s most recent action to expand access to #birthcontrol nationwide. We are looking forward to supporting the proposed rule and encouraging others to do the same so people in every state can have some of the same contraceptive coverage benefits and rights we have worked so hard to secure in CA.

Currently, most private insurance plans must cover all FDA-approved methods of contraception (including OTC products). However, insurers can—and often do—require a prescription in order for insurance to cover birth control, creating an unnecessary barrier to affordable access. Data shows that interest in over-the-counter (OTC) progestin-only birth control pills (POP) increases when covered by insurance 👇 More respondents reported likely OTC POP use if fully covered by insurance: 👉46% of adults and 40% of teens were interested if fully covered vs. 👉39% of adults and 29% of teens in initial question not mentioning coverage The Biden-Harris Administration has made significant progress on their commitment to affordable contraceptives with a new proposed federal rule that would make over-the-counter contraception more affordable and helps address the reproductive health crisis. Read our statement here: https://lnkd.in/gN6-kc5p #FreeThePill #IbisDrivesChange

Essential Access Health applauds the Biden-Harris administration for releasing a new proposed rule to expand access to #BirthControl nationwide 👏👏 Our Co-CEO Amy Moy proudly joined Secretary Becerra, congressional leaders Rep. Scott Peters and Rep. Mike Levin, and partners Dr. Sally Rafie and Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest to celebrate the largest expansion of birth control coverage proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in more than a decade. The proposed rule enhances birth control coverage benefits and requirements nationwide – including coverage of over-the-counter birth control methods w/o out of pocket costs – for millions of Americans with private health insurance. The proposed rule is a huge step forward and a significant advancement particularly for people with lower incomes living in states with abortion bans and severe restrictions, individuals in rural regions, and for those without access to paid time off, childcare, and transportation to get to a clinic during work hours. This landmark proposal comes at a time when support for #ReproductiveFreedom has never been higher, and the need to reduce barriers to birth control is greater than ever. We thank the Biden-Harris Administration for taking this critical step to ensure everyone, everywhere has equitable access to birth control ✊🩵

Bans on abortion at any stage of pregnancy are unjust and arbitrary. 6-week bans are especially harmful because they prohibit abortion access before many people even know they are pregnant, as our research shows. Between 2021 and 2022, more than one-third (37%) of US abortion patients recognized their pregnancy at or after 6 weeks. If they lived in a state with a 6-week ban, they would have been prevented from receiving care at a clinic in their state of residence. This is unacceptable. Pregnant people’s reproductive autonomy shouldn’t depend on their zip code. Everyone deserves access to abortion care when they need it. Learn more in our new analysis: https://gu.tt/4867hG9