"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 23

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 23 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  

I am better off because I now have a president who supports women, and believes they can make their own health care decisions.  

I could attribute this sensitivity to the fact that President Obama has a wife and two daughters, but so did George Bush (and, for that matter, so did Dick Cheney).  And, to be fair, the GOP of four years ago did not seem hell-bent on depriving women of their rights over their own bodies--that seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon.  

But there IS something different from 4 years ago; I think President Obama has been pro-active in his support of women, instead of complacent.  I think, more likely that, having been raised by a single mom, he GETS IT, he really does.  President Obama has quoted his mother saying to him:  "You can tell how far a society is going to go by how it treats its women and girls. And if they're doing well, then the society is going to do well; and if they're not, then they won't be."

This is what he's done for us--one of many things....

Under the Affordable Care Act, for the first time ever, women will now have access to life-saving preventive care, such as mammograms and contraception, without paying any more out of their own pockets.  

Beginning the first plan year after August 1, 2012, most private health insurance plans will cover additional women's preventive services without requiring women to pay an extra penny out of their pockets. These services include:

• Well-woman visits
• Screening for gestational diabetes, which help protect the mother and her child from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases
• Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
• Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence
• Contraception and contraceptive counseling
• HPV DNA testing
• STI counseling
• HIV screening and counseling

 Yes, I certainly am better off than I was four years ago.