HUES Women’s Health Advocacy Institute’s Legislative Initiatives

  • We support policies and laws such as the ACA and subsequent legislation (like the Inflation Reduction Act) which prohibit discriminatory practices such as gender rating and pre-existing condition exclusions, which historically harm women.

    We are in favor of expanded access to comprehensive preventive services (e.g., screenings, contraception) at no cost. Medicaid Expansion, for example, ensures millions of low-income adults, disproportionately women of color, gain health insurance.

  • We support policies that seek to invest in programs for food security, affordable housing, and environmental justice to address the root causes of chronic stress and poor health.

    These policies benefit all communities, but disproportionately lifts health outcomes for Black, Latina, and Native women who are more likely to live in areas with environmental hazards, lower-quality housing, or face higher rates of poverty.

  • We are proponents of the adoption of policies that require implicit bias training for healthcare providers, particularly those working in perinatal care.

    Additionally, we support policy efforts that invest in community health workers and doula programs, often including Medicaid coverage for these non-clinical providers.

  • We support policies that aim to collect better, more specific data to move beyond broad labels like "Asian American" or "Latina" and identify the precise needs of subgroups (e.g., Indian American or Arab American women).