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Where Does Your Candidate Stand on the Issues?
from THE BLACK WOMEN’S HEALTH IMPERATIVE’S 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS: VOTER EDUCATION & ISSUES GUIDE
by BWHI
Pillar I: Access to Quality and Affordable Health Care
Reproductive Rights and Abortion Access Abortion Yes w No w Supports preservation and improvement upon the Affordable Care Act to ensure millions of Americans retain access to affordable, quality health care . Opposes repeal and replace efforts of the ACA .
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Medicaid and Medicare Yes w No w Supports Medicaid expansion in all 50 states and the protection of Medicaid and Medicare as safety net programs with no harmful waivers such as work requirements, premiums, or time limits .
Access to Affordable Medicine and Biosimilars Yes w No w Supports access to affordable life-saving drugs, including biosimilars, and policies that give biosimilars an opportunity to provide competition in the market .
Access to High-Quality Maternal and Infant Health Resources Yes w No w Supports access to patient-centered prenatal, maternity, and postpartum care that is affordable, high-quality, respectful, culturally competent, and safe, to ensure Black women have healthy pregnancies and healthy children .
Title X Family Planning Yes w No w Supports the preservation of women’s preventive services coverage under Title X by fully funding eligible Title X program providers regardless of abortion practices or belief . Access to Affordable Contraceptives Yes w No w Supports access to affordable contraceptives through the maintenance of the ACA’s contraceptive coverage benefit with no religious or moral exemptions, as well as support of the Protect Access to Birth Control Act .
Comprehensive Sex Education Yes w No w Opposes federal funding for harmful sexual risk-avoidance education programs . Opposes federal funding of programs that are insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of LGBTQ youth . Supports legislation and policies that encourage health education programs and provide lifesaving information about sex-related topics including HIV .
Menstrual Equity Yes w No w Supports funding to provide menstrual hygiene products for homeless individuals and increase the affordability of menstrual hygiene products for individuals with limited access .
Uterine Fibroids Yes w No w Supports legislation improving research and education on uterine fibroids, as well as research into treatment alternatives for fibroids . Supports increased funding and research of the effects of stress and racism on reproductive health . Supports improved screening methods for patients, such as questions about pelvic pain . Supports investment in innovative technologies to measure pain and provide alternatives to surgical solutions . Menopause Yes w No w Supports research into menopause, particularly in regard to its impact, early onset, and heightened symptoms experienced by Black women .
Access to Cancer Prevention, Screening, and Treatment Services Yes w No w Supports and recommends the elimination of annual deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance payments (“cost sharing”) for all screening mammograms, including those provided to women more frequently than current federal screening guidelines, such as annual mammograms for women starting at age 40 . Supports the elimination of cost sharing for diagnostic imaging for breast cancer, including diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, and breast MRIs . Supports the full coverage of 3D mammography without copays, coinsurance, or deductibles . *Black women in need of screenings beyond standard mammograms should not have to pay any additional out-ofpocket expenses for these screening and diagnostic tests .
Cervical Cancer Yes w No w Supports co-testing—combining the Pap test and HPV test—as the preferred screening option . Supports legislation that increases federal funding for early detection programs . Supports studying the efficacy of self-screening HPV tests . Supports including Black women in clinical trials .
Obesity Yes w No w Supports policy solutions that prevent obesity by expanding access to nutrition support programs and creating more opportunities for people to be physically active .
Rare Disease Yes w No w Supports the protections of the Affordable Care Act, including preventing insurance companies from discriminating against individuals who have rare diseases . Insurance should cover telehealth visits for people with rare conditions to obtain access to experts .
Breast Cancer Yes w No w Supports the elimination of annual deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance payments (“cost sharing”) for all screening mammograms, such as annual mammograms for women starting at age 40 . Supports the full coverage of 3D mammogram screening and diagnostic tests without copays, coinsurance, or deductibles .
Cardiovascular Health Yes w No w Supports increased access to preventive care and affordable cardiovascular medicines and medical devices, and funding for culturally tailored campaigns and programs that educate and assist Black women in reducing their risk of heart disease .
Diabetes Yes w No w Supports increased funding for awareness programming and public education initiatives about the prevalence of prediabetes and how to prevent type 2 diabetes, and increased benefit coverage for diabetes prevention .
Where Does Your Candidate Stand on the Issues?
HIV/AIDS Yes w No w Supports increased access to services for HIV prevention, including access to PrEP prescriptions and funding for PrEP public education campaigns and programs tailored to Black women and girls .
Mental Health Yes w No w Supports access to affordable mental health services for Black women . Supports increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in the mental health profession through minority pipeline programs and cultural competence training .
Sickle Cell Disease Yes w No w Supports continued coverage of sickle cell disease treatment under Medicaid and Medicare . Supports research on sickle cell disease prevalence, delivery of care, and health outcomes for Black women and girls . Epilepsy Yes w No w Supports developing community-based programs for people with epilepsy, eradicating stigma and discrimination related to epilepsy, and protecting access to medications and treatments to control seizures . Supports access to quality, affordable, physician-directed, and patient-centered care for people with epilepsy
Pillar II: Equitable Responses to Public Health Emergencies
COVID-19 Yes w No w Recommends additional resources and benefits to Black communities for COVID-19 impact . Supports direct payments to individuals and paycheck protection-type programs .
Environmental Health and Environmental Justice Access to Clean Water Yes w No w Supports access to safe, clean water through policies that increase funding for our nation’s water infrastructure needs; prioritize nature-based solutions; uphold environmental, health, and safety standards; and make water affordable for everyone .
Climate Change and Pregnancy Yes w No w Supports legislation that fights to mitigate climate change and highlights the direct effect this crisis has on women of color .
Tobacco Yes w No w Supports legislation that bolsters lung health and curtails youth tobacco use . Includes e-cigarettes in tobacco product regulation . Devotes funding to cessation of menthol-flavored tobacco products . Opioid Crisis Yes w No w Supports and recommends funding for minorityled organization programs, initiatives, and awareness campaigns that debunk myths and fight stigma about the opioid crisis in Black communities; continued coverage of Suboxone treatment by Medicaid and Medicare; additional appropriations bill for CDC, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to address opioids and incorporate a strong enforcement strategy for opioid-related public health initiatives; and maintenance of the Office of National Drug Control Policy .
Gun Violence Yes w No w Supports and recommends federal policies that include common sense restrictions on the ownership and purchase of guns
Incarceration and Money Bail Yes w No w Supports and recommends ending money bail; ending the policy of shackling incarcerated pregnant women; legislation that requires investigation into the for-profit bail industry; ongoing oversight; and investment into alternatives to money bail, such as avoiding detention through citations, pre- or post-charge diversion, earlier hearings, and automated phone and text messages .
Pillar III: Sufficient Diversity in Clinical Trials and Health Care Delivery Systems
Diversity in Clinical Trials Yes w No w Supports inclusion of Black women in clinical trials to better inform research and understand health disparities including higher incidence and mortality rates from chronic conditions . Diversity in Tech Yes w No w Support enhanced access to 3D technology, programs, and initiatives to increase the number of Black women in tech and startups with investment funding .
Diversity in the Workforce Yes w No w Support diverse leadership of health professionals in educational institutions and hospital and culturally competent training into the licensure and accreditation training of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals .
Where Does Your Candidate Stand on the Issues?
Pillar IV: Increased Funding to Support HBCUs
Funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities Yes w No w Support an increase in funding for HBCU and minorityserving institutions in the federal budget . Black Girls and School Discipline Policies Yes w No w Recommends policies and resources to support young Black school-aged girls . Supports culturally competent educational policies and the enforcement of fair disciplinary actions for all students, including policies that reduce suspension and expulsion among students, specifically students of color .
Pillar V: Social Justice and Equality
Equal Pay Yes w No w Supports legal protections that prohibit sex-based discrimination in compensation, including the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Executive Order 11246 .
Police Violence Yes w No w Supports policy solutions to police violence, including the redistribution of excessive police funding to social services programming . Gender-Based Violence Against Black Women on Campus Yes w No w Supports and recommends the reauthorization of funding for the Violence Against Women Act, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and the Victims of Crimes Act, along with anti-gender-discrimination policy and campus sexual violence policy enforcement such as Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 on college campuses .
Implicit Bias Yes w No w Supports patient-centered, values-based implicit bias training that incorporates the lived experiences of Black women during their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care . Support scientific review of interventions and policies related to implicit bias and racism in maternal care and delivery of health services to women of color .
Sexual Assualt Yes w No w Supports policy solutions to protect victims of sexual assult .
Incarceration Yes w No w Supports more equitable sentencing . Supports adequate, high-quality health care for incarcerated women .