In San Francisco last week, a local sex worker, pen named “Siouxsie Q”, put on a show titled the “Health Ho’s Party”, aiming to educate and encourage the Bay Area sex workers to enroll in the insurance exchange system provided by Obama Care.

 

Volunteers from Siouxsie’s weekly podcast, The WhoreCast, staffed the event. “Jolene,” another sex worker who had already enrolled through the California exchange, was also on hand to talk users through the process. A key detail for the crowd: Enrollment doesn’t require users to report their employment.

These workers who operate in a cash-only underworld market, tend to be of higher health risk and health insurance may not be readily accessible and affordable. Now with the Affordable Healthcare Act, many sex workers are now able to afford a luxury previously not even considered.

She explains that she and her partner were quoted over $400 a month, “We just couldn’t swing [insurance] in the Bay Area — we’re lower middle class, recent college graduates, in Startup Land trying to make our way,” she said. And now with the Affordable Care Act coming into effect come January 1st, her insurance may cost as little as $175 a month, and through the California exchange, Jolene will receive a $211 monthly tax credit, which will bring her payments to just $36 a month. Individuals making less than $46,000 are eligible for a tax credit to offset their monthly costs.

The Affordable Care Act will cover contraception, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and violence counseling at no additional charge, which the sex workers said would make a big difference in their community. The legislation will also make it more difficult for insurance companies to deny coverage based on gender identity and HIV status. However, all I’m hearing is that if I find myself on the funny side of town when I visit San Fran, I may breathe a sigh of release knowing that with Obama Care, everyone is being taken care of one way or another.