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What’s at Stake in the 2024 Election for Women’s Health

Authored by: Christina Ramsay, Rachel Nuzum, and Laurie C. Zephyrin

Categories: Global Public Health, Human Rights
Sub-Categories: Sexual and Reproductive Health
Country: United States
Region: North America
Year: 2024
Citation: Ramsay, Christina, Rachel Nuzum, and Laurie C. Zephyrin. 2024. "What’s at Stake in the 2024 Election for Women’s Health." The Commonwealth Fund, August 14, 2024. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2024/aug/whats-stake-2024-election-womens-health

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Executive Summary

In the United States, women’s access to health care — including abortion and reproductive services, which were significantly limited by the overturning of Roe v. Wade — depends, in large part, on the state they live in. Where women live also determines how likely they are to have a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery, as well as their risk of dying from preventable causes like substance use and certain cancers.

Women in the southeastern U.S., for example, have lower rates of access to affordable coverage and worse health outcomes compared to women in other regions, according to data from the Commonwealth Fund’s state scorecard on women’s health. In southeastern states — several of which haven’t expanded Medicaid, a key source of preventive and maternal health care coverage for people with low incomes — women are more likely to be uninsured.

The outcome of the election could affect women’s health care coverage and access in several ways. Here’s what’s at stake for women’s health across the nation.