More than 1 million American women go back to work every year while they are breastfeeding. Combining work - which is a financial necessity for most new mothers - with breastfeeding - which is a public health imperative - is hard work.
The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover a breast pump. However, some plans are grandfathered out, and there is no requirement for coverage of double, electric breast pumps, so some plans offer coverage only for a single-breast, manual pump. These pumps cannot get the job done, especially for women in physically demanding jobs with very limited break time. In order to truly support breastfeeding and working mothers, ACA must require all insurance plans, including Medicaid, to cover double, electric breast pumps for all working mothers.