At an event organized by the New Hampshire Women’s Health Network and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Senator Shaheen praised the law as the single biggest advancement in women’s health in her lifetime.
And she urged participants to fight back against what she calls misinformation.
“If you listen to the rhetoric in Washington, one would think that when the law goes into effect with the exchanges on October 1st, that the world is gonna come to an end, or certainly, America as we know it,” says Shaheen. “The fact is, it’s having a real positive impact already on people’s lives.”
Shaheen points to the law’s requirement that women now can’t be charged more for the same insurance plan as men, that co-pays for contraception are eliminated, and that women have more access to preventive benefits.
Shaheen, who voted for the law in 2010, says she expects challenges as the major components roll out in the next few months. But she calls a plan supported by some Republicans to repeal funding for Obamacare or shut down the government a "crazy notion."
Senator Kelly Ayotte also says she does not support the House’s legislation.
