PathWays PA Policy Blog

Nearly one in four American working mothers need to return to work within two weeks of giving birth. With that starting statistic in mind, let us take a look at what this means for most mothers.  Women who are forced to return to work before they are ready face a great deal of challenges. Many face depression and other mental issues. Physical challenges exist for these women as well. In one case, a mother was forced to pump breast milk in her car during her lunch break because her factory job did not have a lactation room. New children also feel the pain from lack of maternity leave. Without being around their mothers, many children do not develop socially and emotionally as well as an infant who created a stronger bond with his/her mother. So what is the solution? Paid family leave time. Currently, only 13 percent of working people in America have access to paid leave. The benefits to paid family leave are astounding. A 20% drop in infant mortality rate and an increase in ...

The Equity in Interscholastic Athletics Disclosure Act , passed in 2012 with strong bipartisan support, created a working gender-equity law that requires public secondary schools (grades 7-12) in Pennsylvania to report basic information about their school-sponsored athletic programs once a year. These reports have revealed that Pennsylvania school districts are shortchanging their female students by failing to provide them with sufficient athletic opportunities in proportion to the percentage of female students enrolled. According to Women's Law Project, gender gaps in athletic participation are as big as 18.72% . This law causes the state and communities to face the facts of gender discrimination, data that is otherwise easy to cover up with social constructs. If passed, HB 1112, which came up for a vote in the Education Committee today and was re-committed to the House Rules Committee , could threaten the gender equity law. HB 1112 specifies that the Department of Education s...

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) highlighted some important statistics  on the relationship between paid sick leave and preventive health care. Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2010, health care access has opened up to numerous Americans, including low-income earners who were previously uninsured and women seeking preventive care . Unfortunately, too many Americans simply do not have the time to actually receive these services. More than 40 million workers in the U.S. (39 percent) have no paid sick days and nearly 95 million workers (87 percent) have no paid family leave. 80 percent of low-wage workers earning $15,000 or less per year have no paid sick days. Work protections such as paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave are crucial for preventive health care, which in turn is key for healthy and safe lives. Routine health checkups and screenings can help prevent or detect early on diseases and other health problems, but a 2015 study ...

On Wednesday, September 17, from 10 am - 1 pm, you can take part in free health screenings, gather educational materials, and learn the latest about preventative health at the 4th Annual Women and Families Wellness Event. The event will take place at the Delaware County Government Center, which is located at 201 Front Street in Media. Please share this information and join us there! Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 5/29/14 - Support Health Care for Military Women and Military Families 3/18/14 - Upcoming Public Webinars on the Affordable Healthcare Law! 5/22/13 - Make Sure You Know-Women's Preventative Health Services Have NO Co-Pay!

From our friends at the National Women's Law Center Women in the military and women in military families serve and sacrifice for our country every day. It only makes sense that we should give them the support they deserve in return, especially when it comes to important health benefits. Unlike most women with private insurance plans - which must cover breastfeeding supplies and counseling - military women and military families lack comprehensive insurance coverage of the same supplies and support under the Department of Defense's TRICARE health care program. In fact, TRICARE only covers a breast pump in extreme circumstances for most women. But a bill currently before Congress would make sure all military women and military families have better coverage of breastfeeding supplies and education.  Breastfeeding benefits both mothers and children, reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women and asthma, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and leukemia in children. Women w...

From our friends at the National Women's Law Center  On Thursday, March 6, beginning at 2:ooPM, NWLC, ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL will host a phone conference to provide information on the upcoming Supreme Court case. Beginning on March 25th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the cases brought by 2 for-profit corporations who want to deny their employees insurance coverage of contraception. Contraception is critical to women's health and equality. This benefit is currently enjoyed by 27 million women and these employers want to take it away from the women who work for them. If you are interested in learning more, join the National Women's Law Center, ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL for a conference call that will update you about the cases and inform you about the public education and media events in support of the contraceptive coverage benefit over the next few months and on the day of the court hearing. RSVP is required: Please email Yumhee Park...

From our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families  On October 31st, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) turns 35! And one of the best ways to celebrate is to move the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (HR 1975/S 942) , a bill that builds on the PDA's legacy to ensure fair treatment for pregnant workers. Over 130 organizations have already shown their support for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - are you on the list? Click here to view the coalition letter in support of the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act. This letter will show the breadth and depth of the coalition supporting this important piece of legislation, so please sign on today! To read and sign on to the letter, click here .  Deadline: Monday, October 28th, 2013   Questions: Call or email Amarillys Rodriguez at 202-986-2600 or arodriguez@nationalpartnership.org

Take action now and tell your Senators today to end the extreme policy that prohibits women in the Peace Corps who become pregnant due to rape or whose life is at risk because of pregnancy from getting an abortion. The Peace Corps is a federal program that sends over 8,000 American volunteers abroad each year to promote world peace and friendship. Women make up more than 60 percent of these volunteers. And though other women who receive health care coverage through the federal government have coverage of abortion in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life of the woman, Peace Corps volunteers are prohibited from receiving the same coverage as federal employees. It's time to end the unconscionable ban on abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers in the cases of rape, incest and life endangerment to the woman. Tell your Senators to support the Peace Corps Equity Act to end this extreme policy.

The National Women's Law Center has been working hard to make sure you and your families know about the preventive coverage provided through Obamacare. We've heard from many women about how much this coverage has helped them! Some women have reported obstacles. Have you gone to the pharmacy to get your birth control thinking you wouldn't have a co-pay - only to find out that you did? Or have you gone to the doctor thinking your annual visit would be covered without a co-pay - but it wasn't? This new tool kit will help guide your way through the new system of care you are entitled to. If you have a question, or you have trouble getting a preventive service covered and you're unsure why contact NWLC at: 1-866-PILL4US or via email at pill4us@nwlc.org .

This month, two bills were introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly - Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 742 - that would ban private insurance plans sold in the health insurance exchange, which will begin in 2014, from covering even medically necessary abortion services. These exceptions to receive abortion coverage are very narrow and there is no exception made for catastrophic health situations such as a cancer diagnosis. Protect Pennsylvania women's access to comprehensive, safe, affordable reproductive healthcare. Please contact your legislator(s) and urge them to vote NO to SB 3 and HB 742!

This spring marked the second anniversary of the new health care reform law and Raising Women's Voices of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a coalition PathWays PA is a member of, celebrated by launching the Countdown to Coverage campaign! This campaign is aimed at helping women understand the concrete ways that the Affordable Care Act is making it easier for women to get the services we need to stay healthy throughout all life stages and across all socioeconomic levels. We are currently counting down to an important milestone for the health care reform law, and more importantly, for women. Starting on August 1, all new insurance plans will have to start covering important preventative health services for women, such as contraception, screening and counseling for domestic violence, annual well-woman visits, and breastfeeding supports, without charging co-pays. Expensive co-pays are a major barrier for women and can prevent us from getting the care we need. This preventative care ...

SPECIAL EVENTS Federal Policy Updates A WEBINAR FOR THE BUDGET-PERPLEXED Stop the Slashing: The human needs advocates' simple guide to understanding - and defeating - unprecedented attacks on the federal budget Tuesday, June 7, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern time Register today! https://chn.peachnewmedia.com/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=8116 Massive cuts in essential services like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP/food stamps, education and children's services, help to low-income communities such as housing and the Community Services Block Grant, and virtually every other human needs program. A large number of proposals being floated in Washington would devastate these services and would make it far harder for the federal government to respond to economic downturns and solve looming national problems. These proposals don't have straightforward names like "The Act to Slash Health Care for Older Americans" or "The Act to Cut Services for Low- and Moderate-In...

SPECIAL EVENTS EVER SEEN CITY HALL WRAPPED IN THOUSANDS OF POSTCARDS? Neither have we. That's why you should join us on May 26 at 8 AM at City Hall. Come out and show your support as we wrap City Hall with the thousands of postcards of people like you who support passing this bill. Not to mention have fun doing something that's never been done before! To register please visit: http://earnedsickdayspostcards.eventbrite.com /. For more information about this event contact Jasmine Rivera of ACTION United at jmrivera@gm.slc.edu . Come be part of this historic event! JOIN OUR TWITTER RALLY AND BLOG CARNIVAL FOR PAID SICK DAYS IN PHILADELPHIA This week, MomsRising will be working with the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces to hold a "blog carnival" for paid sick days. What's a blog carnival? A blog carnival is a collection of blogposts on one topic. It brings together the latest research, analysis and personal reflection and stories to offer read...