As I’ve been thinking about what angle to take when writing my blog post to mark the one year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, I’ve reflected on the many posts I’ve already written about the law and its benefits, both for me personally, and writ large.

And then it struck me, there are numerous reasons to celebrate this law, and like the hokey-pokey, that’s what it’s all about!

Today as I think about what the health care law has brought to Americans across the country, I am celebrating because–

• I now have direct access to ob/gyn care, and can get preventive health care at no additional cost (my fingers will remain crossed until August that this will include prescription contraceptives and I’m hopeful that it will).
• My mom, a former pre-school teacher, can get a flu shot without a co-pay (not to mention the fact that all of her former students can too).
• My dad, who is retired and gets his health care from Medicare, will no longer have to space his prescription refills and worry about falling into the “donut hole.”
• My cousin, who starts college in the fall and dreams of someday being a famous writer, will not have to worry about finding a job with health care immediately upon his graduation because he can stay on his parent’s plan while he writes the next great American novel.
• My friend with diabetes does not have to stay in a job she hates just because it offers her health care.
• My friend’s mother with a chronic health condition no longer has to worry about reaching her annual or lifetime limit on how much her health insurance company will spend on her care.
• My step-brother and his fiancée have been thinking about opening a small business, and now with the new health care law, there are tax credits that will help them provide their future employees with health insurance.
• My (girl) friends, who are self-employed and obtain their health insurance through the individual market, will no longer be charged more for their insurance just because they are women.
• And, when I decide it is time for me to start a family, I don’t have to worry about getting maternity care, or having a c-section and therefore being branded with a “pre-existing condition” for the rest of my life.

And to be honest, these are only some of the reasons the Affordable Care Act is worth celebrating. Sure, it is not a perfect law, but in all honesty, what is? What I’m celebrating is that we worked for 40 years to make health care a universal right, and it was a minor miracle we got it passed. Now we can work to protect it, make it stronger, and even better for women.

I’m happy to be moving forward and protecting women’s health care.