Health Care Coverage for Women
Medical Assistance (MA)
There are some ways that women in Pennsylvania can become categorically eligible based on certain criteria for free health care coverage through the Medical Assistance program due to particular circumstances in their lives.
Some examples of circumstances that allow for categorical eligibility in the PA Medical Assistance program are:
- having breast or cervical cancer or pre-cancerous conditions;
- pregnancy;
- receipt of domestic violence protective services; and
- being the single head of a household with children.
Women in any of these particular situations are categorically eligible for Medical Assistance; however, there are some other eligibility requirements that they must also meet in order to get this coverage, such as meeting income (and sometimes resource) limits, citizenship/immigration status requirements, and PA residency requirements.
To find out if you might be eligible for health care through one of these programs, see our quickscreen tool.
Healthy Woman Program
There are also screening sites, called Healthy Woman sites, which are available to uninsured women in PA who wish to be screened for breast and/or cervical cancer. To find out more information about these free screening sites, see the Department of Health on the Healthy Woman program.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
In Pennsylvania, there is a preventive health and nutrition program for pregnant women, breastfeeding women up to 12 months postpartum, non-breastfeeding women up to six months postpartum and children up to five years of age. It is commonly referred to as WIC, and is run through the PA Department of Health. It offers nutritionally valuable foods, health screenings, and breastfeeding support, among other things, for families that qualify. For more on information on WIC, go to the Department of Health's web page.
