How reproductive health care is dealt with in national health care reform is no
small matter. And who provides this care is still to be determined.
For communities like Springfield, local health centers are where many people
turn for trusted health care. Community health providers, like Planned
Parenthood, often serve as an entry point for essential health care needs. And
Planned Parenthood of Illinois isn’t the only health center women rely on for preventive care.
Today, one in four women who receives contraceptive care does so at a women’s health center. One in six who obtains a Pap test does so at a women’s health center, as do one third of women who receive counseling, testing or
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. This basic health
care is essential, particularly during difficult economic times, to give women
the tools they need to protect and support their families.
As Congress works to enact health care reform, they must make women’s health a priority and ensure that reproductive health care is covered. While
this fact should be a given, the truth is that family planning and reproductive
health care are still not fully part of mainstream health care, even though 98
percent of women use contraception at some point in their lives.
Protecting community health providers is also fundamental to solving provider
access issues that will come with expanding coverage and ensuring Americans can
access trusted providers wherever they live.
Under health care reform, women must have access to reproductive health care and
their women’s health provider. Women cannot be worse off after health care reform than they
are today.
How essential is your community health provider? The answer is simple — if Americans want real health reform, community health providers must be part
of the plan.
Your help can make a huge impact locally and across the nation. Congressman Phil
Hare (IL District 17) sits on the House Education and Labor Committee and
Congressman John Shimkus (IL District 19) sits on the House Energy and Commerce
Committee. Both are playing an integral role in important health care decisions
that are currently taking place in Washington, D.C. Contact Congressmen Hare
and Shimkus today to insure their support for access to essential reproductive health care
services.
Steve Trombley is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, which
provides affordably priced high-quality reproductive health care services to
women and families throughout Illinois. Through health care services,
educational programs and advocacy efforts, PPIL works to ensure and protect the
reproductive rights of each individual.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2009.
