by Joy Burkhard, MBA
Founder 2020 Mom and National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health, Health Insurance Guru

Two weeks ago, it became clear (again) that congress was not going to succeed in repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

It started with the Senate voting in favor of opening debate on two more repeal bills:

The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) failed to garner enough votes, and the straight repeal bill (with no replacement) failed as well.

The so-called “Skinny Repeal” also failed on a vote of 49-51. Republicans John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and all Democrats vote against the bill.

Last week we learned that Democrats are interested in working with republicans including Mitch McConnell (Republican, Senate Majority Party Leader who led the latest repeal efforts), to work on improving the ACA. It's critical at this point to stabilize the market places, also known as the exchanges, so that either premiums for individual plans (non-employer based plans) don't triple, and/or insurers don't continue to pull out of marketplaces for fear of continued profit losses.

The National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health (a project of 2020 Mom) will continue to ensure that you all have clear and organized way to raise your voices in favor of pregnancy and mental health coverage that is accessible to all women. For now, don't be shy about simply speaking up by calling your legislators both nationally and in your home state to share just how important it is for women from all walks of life have health and mental health coverage. You can learn who your legislators are here.

And if this work excites you and you are interested in policy change, please e-mail us at Info@2020mom.org. We'd love to know you are out there and what's on your mind.