More to Be Done: Individuals’ Needs for Sexual and Reproductive Health Coverage and Care

[摘要] Health care reform is expected to take center stage again in the U.S. Congress in 2019. Conservatives are continuing their crusade to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while progressive lawmakers and advocates are bringing forward new ideas to go beyond that law in incremental or comprehensive ways. The changes proposed by both sides would affect actors at all levels of the health care system, including insurance providers, clinicians, pharmacists, hospital employees, health educators and, of course, patients. Sexual and reproductive health needs are often discounted or ignored by policymakers and advocates in discussions around health care reform. This is not reflective of their importance to broader health issues, but rather an indication of the cultural and political sensitivities around sexuality, reproductive choices and gender inequality. In reality, sexual and reproductive health and rights have far-reaching implications for people’s overall health, and health care reform offers a unique opportunity to address these issues. The responsibilities of the health care sector in satisfying sexual and reproductive health needs are articulated in a recent report by the Guttmacher- Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. 1 Written by a globally representative, multidisciplinary assembly of experts in sexual and reproductive health, development, and human rights, the report offers a comprehensive explanation of sexual and reproductive health needs and proposes a comprehensive package of essential interventions to meet those needs. The report’s analysis and findings identify the seven major categories of sexual and reproductive health care, as discussed below.

[学科分类] 卫生学

[关键词] birth control;intimate partner violence;maternal health;public health;health care reform;Medicaid