We must not forget about the hundreds of thousands of American women who are currently in the coverage gap in states that have not expanded Medicaid. The ACA provided Medicaid for people with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level (with exchange subsidies picking up where Medicaid ends), but the Supreme Court ruled that states could opt out of Medicaid expansion, and there are still 12 states — mostly in the southeastern US — that have not expanded Medicaid.
Women in those states are not eligible for subsidies to purchase exchange plans unless their incomes are at least 100% of the poverty level. But the stringent guidelines for Medicaid eligibility in 11 of those 12 states (all but Wisconsin) mean that many women with incomes below the exchange subsidy threshold are not eligible for Medicaid either – they earn too much for Medicaid but too little for exchange subsidies.
The ACA’s health insurance reforms remain unavailable to women for whom health insurance itself is out of reach.