U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order designed to protect and expand access to contraception, after a Supreme Court ruling last year overturning the constitutional right to abortion raised fears that birth control could also face restrictions.
From medicaid.gov “93,373,794 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in the 50 states and the District of Columbia that reported enrollment data for February 2023.”
Seems like a fair number of people.
It also includes some of the most vulnerable and low income people in the country. People who cannot afford the care for a healthy pregnancy, let alone raising the resulting child(ren), and those who are in situations where they’re at high risk of being raped, like the unhoused. Even if it doesn’t affect my access, I’m pleased that the folks who need this coverage can access it.
An estimated 50% of those are women (who tend to benefit the most from easy contraception). Additionally, these individuals are often poorer, and, as a result, disproportionately of minority populations. Not only is it a fair number of people, but also the people that need the help the most.
Another 63 million on Medicare and yet it’s still a bandaid on a gaping wound that might get ripped off any minute.