National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse

2014 NHCVA Congressional Briefing
Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 8:30 – 10:00 AM
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-340

This briefing will highlight opportunities in health care to reduce domestic and dating violence and adverse childhood experiences (ACE), and new technology (apps) that promote safe and healthy relationships. Current health policy recommendations will be highlighted. For more information, click here.

Webinar: Human Trafficking: The Role of the Health Care Provider
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
12:00-1:30pm PDT/ 1:00-2:30pm MDT/ 2:00-3:30pm CDT/ 3:00-4:30pm EDT
To register, please follow this link: http://futureswithoutviolence.adobeconnect.com/htwebinar/event/registration.html

For more information, click here.

WHAT’S NEW

Hardship Exemption for Women Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence

On March 26, 2014, the IRS issued important guidance to address a problem that had kept women who have experienced domestic violence from being able to access health insurance through the federal Insurance Marketplaces.

Federal rules required legally married women count their husbands’ income when applying for health insurance through the Marketplace–even when the woman was estranged from the spouse, living separately, or had no access to their husband’s income. This mean that women who by themselves would qualify for financial help to buy coverage were unable to get it.

The IRS has now implement policy that says that even if you are still married, you can be eligible for financial help for health insurance if: you live apart from your spouse at the time they file taxes and indicate on their taxes that they are unable to file jointly with their spouse due to domestic abuse. These women have also been given a special enrollment period to get coverage.

At this time, it is unclear what documentation will be needed, if any, to prove domestic violence. HHS will issue clarifications soon.

Click here to view the rules on the Special Enrollment Periods for women who have experienced DV.

RESOURCES

• Affordable Care Act Fact Sheet

• AMA Interim Meeting presentation on Domestic Violence and Affordable Care Act

• Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States report from the Institute of Medicine

• Trauma-Informed Approaches: Federal Activities and Initiatives: Federal Partners Committee on Women and Trauma
  

  In the early 1990s, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) began a series of initiatives to raise awareness regarding the increasing numbers of women who had experienced violence and trauma, frequently beginning in childhood, who were seeking services from public mental health and substance abuse programs. This document reflects how the Federal Partners Committee on Women and Trauma’s efforts to promote, adopt, and implement trauma-informed approaches have enhanced the effectiveness of a wide range of government services and supports.

• Resources for IPV Screening and Counseling Coverage Guidelines in the Affordable Care Act

OTHER RESOURCES

• Domestic Violence: The Secret Killer That Costs $8.3 Billion Annually in Forbes Magazine

• An International Comparative Public Health Analysis of Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Eight Cities: Achieving a More Effective Health Sector Response published in the Journal of Urban Health

• 2013 IOM Annual Meeting – The Science of Violence: Causation, Mitigation, and Prevention. View the webcast and presentations from the 2013 IOM Annual Meeting.