"Healthy Ho's"—The Government's Push to Enroll Prostitutes in Obamacare

    

 Christine Rousselle | Nov 01, 2013         

In a headline that seemed to be ripped from the Onion, CNN Money reported today about a "Healthy Ho's" party held in San Francisco in order to encourage sex workers to enroll in Obamacare.

The risqué performance was part of an Obamacare registration drive last week in San Francisco, dubbed the "Healthy Ho's Party."  Organized by "Siouxsie Q," a Bay Area sex worker, the event was meant to encourage other sex workers to enroll in the new insurance exchanges. It was a rousing success: Nearly 40 men and women attended and almost all of them filed enrollment paperwork. 

     Literally a million questions are running through my head. First and foremost, how does a sex worker submit to income verification? Is prostitution suddenly not illegal in California? How on earth were 40 people able to enroll in Obamacare at one time?

     Never fear, though, as the prostitutes in question are now "thrilled" that their risky, illegal careers are now being subsidized through tax payers. After all,

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.

Enabling prostitution: another one of Obamacare's unintended side effects.