“A lot of news recently has featured the health care “family glitch.” In my family, when you say something is just a glitch, it means a small problem and probably easily fixable.
In this case, the “family glitch” in the news has to do with families qualifying for premium subsidies when they purchase health insurance on the state health marketplace. This glitch isn’t a small matter. It impacts more than 5 million Americans – many of whom are women and children. While not small, this glitch is fixable. And President Biden has proposed a new rule to do just that.
A new Commonwealth Fund report looked at women’s health (ages 18-49) in the United States and 10 other “developed” countries and found:
- Rates of death from avoidable causes, including pregnancy-related complications, are highest in the U.S.
- The U.S. had the highest maternal mortality rate by far at 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
- U.S. women have among the highest rates of multiple chronic conditions and the highest rate of mental health needs.
- U.S. women are significantly more likely to have problems paying their medical bills or to skip or delay needed care because of costs.”