[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 400 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 400

  Expressing the support of the Congress regarding the need to ensure 
 health care for women and health care for all in national health care 
                                reform.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2008

Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Hodes, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mrs. Capps, 
   Ms. Schwartz, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Waxman, Ms. 
  DeLauro, Ms. Solis, Mr. Rothman, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
  Castor, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. 
  Bordallo, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. Sutton, Mr. 
 Moran of Virginia, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. 
Baldwin, and Mr. Stark) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the support of the Congress regarding the need to ensure 
 health care for women and health care for all in national health care 
                                reform.

Whereas women are the health care decision-makers for themselves and their 
        families;
Whereas women want affordable health care they can count on throughout life 
        transitions: starting a family, job changes, part-time and full-time 
        work, divorce, caring for an elderly or sick family member, having a 
        major disease, retiring;
Whereas women with good health coverage worry about keeping their coverage and 
        their providers;
Whereas women are more likely to seek essential preventive and routine care, are 
        more likely to have a chronic health condition, and are more likely to 
        take a prescription drug on a daily basis;
Whereas women pay 68 percent more than men for out-of-pocket medical costs, due 
        in large part to reproductive health care needs;
Whereas more than half of the underinsured (53 percent) and two-thirds of the 
        uninsured (68 percent) forgo needed care and about half of the 
        underinsured (45 percent) and uninsured (51 percent) report difficulty 
        paying medical bills;
Whereas in 2004, one in six women with individual coverage reported postponing 
        or going without needed care because she could not afford it;
Whereas high-deductible health plans are often targeted to young women as an 
        inexpensive health coverage option, but fail to cover pregnancy-related 
        care, the most expensive health event most young families face and the 
        leading cause for hospital stays;
Whereas 75,000,000 adults (42 percent of the under-65 population) had either no 
        insurance or inadequate insurance in 2007, up from 35 percent in 2003;
Whereas 47,000,000 people, nearly 16 percent of the United States population are 
        uninsured, including 17,000,000 adult women ages 18-64 (18 percent) and 
        9,000,000 children (12 percent);
Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimated that lack of health insurance 
        coverage resulted in 18,000 excess deaths in the United States in 2000 
        (a number which the Urban Institute estimates grew to 22,000 by 2006) 
        and that acquiring health insurance reduces mortality rates for the 
        uninsured by 10 to 15 percent;
Whereas uninsured women with breast cancer are 30 to 50 percent more likely to 
        die from the disease, and uninsured women are 3 times less likely to 
        have had a Pap test in the last three years, with a 60 percent greater 
        risk of late-stage cervical cancer;
Whereas 13 percent of all pregnant women are uninsured, making them less likely 
        to seek prenatal care in the first trimester and to receive the optimal 
        number of visits during their pregnancy and 31 percent more likely to 
        experience an adverse health outcome after giving birth;
Whereas the lack or inadequate use of prenatal care is associated with 
        pregnancy-related mortality 2 to 3 times higher and infant mortality 6 
        times higher than that of women receiving early prenatal care, as well 
        as increased risk of low birth weight and preterm birth;
Whereas heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men, but 
        women are less likely to receive lifestyle counseling, diagnostic and 
        therapeutic procedures, and cardiac rehabilitation and more likely to 
        die or have a second heart attack, demonstrating inequalities in access 
        to care;
Whereas health care disparities persist, leaving Hispanic and Native American 
        women and children 3 times and African-Americans nearly twice as likely 
        to be uninsured than non-Hispanic whites;
Whereas in 2005, nearly 80 percent of the female population with HIV was black 
        or Hispanic and HIV/AIDS incidence rates are dramatically higher for 
        black and Hispanic women and adolescents (60.2 and 15.8 per 100,000, 
        respectively) than for white women and adolescents (3.0 per 100,000);
Whereas women are less likely than men to be insured through their jobs and more 
        likely to be insured as a dependent, making them more vulnerable to 
        insurance loss in the event of divorce or death of a spouse;
Whereas 64 percent of uninsured women are in families with at least one adult 
        working full-time;
Whereas health care costs are increasingly unaffordable for working families and 
        employers, with employer-sponsored health insurance premiums increasing 
        87 percent since 2000;
Whereas America's 9,100,000 women-owned businesses employ 27,500,000 people, 
        contribute $3,600,000,000,000 to the economy, and face serious obstacles 
        in obtaining affordable health coverage,
Whereas the lack of affordable health coverage creates barriers for women who 
        want to change jobs or create their own small businesses;
Whereas health care professionals and workers--a significant portion of whom are 
        women--have a stake in achieving reform that allows them to provide the 
        highest quality care for their patients;
Whereas 56 percent of all caregivers are women;
Whereas although the United States spends twice as much on health care as the 
        median industrialized nation, the Nation's health care system ranks near 
        the bottom on most measures of health status among the 30 developed 
        nations of the OECD and 37th in overall health performance among 191 
        nations; and
Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimates that the cost of achieving full 
        insurance coverage in the United States would be less than the loss in 
        economic productivity from existing coverage gaps: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress commits to pass, and urges the President sign into 
law, within the next 18 months, legislation that guarantees health care 
for women and health care for all and that--
            (1) recognizes the special role that women play as health 
        care consumers, caregivers, and providers;
            (2) guarantees inclusion of health care benefits essential 
        to achieving and maintaining good health, including 
        comprehensive reproductive health, pregnancy-related, and 
        infant care;
            (3) promotes primary and preventive care, including family 
        planning, contraceptive equity, and care continuity;
            (4) provides a choice of public and private plans and 
        direct access to a choice of doctors and health care providers 
        to ensure continuity of coverage and a delivery system that 
        meets the need of women;
            (5) eliminates health disparities in coverage, treatment, 
        and outcomes on the basis of gender, culture, race, ethnicity, 
        socioeconomic status, health status, and sexual orientation;
            (6) shares responsibility for financing among employers, 
        individuals, and the Government while taking into account the 
        needs of small businesses;
            (7) ensures that access to health care is affordable;
            (8) enhances quality and patient safety;
            (9) ensures a sufficient supply of qualified providers 
        through expanded medical and public health education and 
        adequate reimbursement; and
            (10) promotes administration efficiency, reduces 
        unnecessary paperwork, and is easy for health care consumers 
        and providers to utilize.
                                 <all>