A Spark of Light in New Jersey
Posted by Advocate Aaron on April 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
New Jersey’s uninsured pregnant women – and their unborn children – have an ally in the statehouse. Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver is sponsoring a bill that would allow for continued prenatal care for young and minority women if a clinic closes. In effect, the bill would give “the commissioner authority to determine whether to dedicate funds from the Health Care Stabilization Fund to support obstetrics at a financially distressed health care center” (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj-xgr-legislativepr0111jan11,0,6201915.story).
While this might not be the state’s long-term solution, if passed it will at least lend hope that legislators are paying attention to the crises faced by many uninsured pregnant women – and are willing to take strides to end it. In New Jersey, African American and teenage women are especially vulnerable to economic conditions that lead to a lack of maternal insurance, and therefore a lack of prenatal care.
Nobody wants to be without health insurance, and many people simply cannot gain access to it due to economic conditions beyond their control. Even worse, the medical community often turns away those who need their help the most, and insurance companies refuse to write policies for those with a “pre-existing” condition such as pregnancy. And, even more heinous, are those insurance companies who refuse to cover pregnancies conceived within six months of policy initiation.
In New Jersey, at least one person who is in a position to affect change is listening. Let’s hope that the rest of the state’s assembly is listening, too. Let’s hope this bill passes, and we can continue moving our cause forward, baby step by baby step.
