Tom Harkin: “I watched many of the statements made by so many of our women Senators who came to the floor in the past hour to talk…”

“I watched many of the statements made by so many of our women Senators who came to the floor in the past hour to talk about this issue of women's preventive health services. I was unable to get to the floor at the time. I want to be here now because, unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion about what the Affordable Care Act does and does not do with respect to women's preventive health services. As chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and as someone who is very much involved in crafting this legislation, especially the preventive services part of that legislation, I hope to explain the facts and debunk the myths and the misinformation that has recently arisen on this issue. First, women--nurses, teachers, professors, homemakers, attorneys-- everyone from all walks of life, all women in America now have the right to preventive health care services. Beginning this August, the Affordable Care Act guarantees that insured women will have access to expert recommended preventive health care services. These basic services include well-women visits, mammograms, prenatal care, cervical cancer screenings, and contraception. These critical services will be offered without any out-of-pocket costs such as copays or deductibles. It is the latter, the ability of women to have a health insurance plan that covers contraceptives that has led to this recent controversy, this outpouring, this outburst of political accusations.…”