[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 638 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 638

  Supporting legislation promoting improved health care and access to 
                         health care for women.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2008

Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Obama, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. 
  McCaskill, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Kennedy, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Supporting legislation promoting improved health care and access to 
                         health care for women.

Whereas women are the health care decisionmakers for themselves and their 
        families;
Whereas women want affordable health care they can count on throughout life 
        transitions, such as starting a family, job changes, part-time and full-
        time work, divorce, caring for an elderly or sick family member, having 
        a major disease, or retiring;
Whereas women with good health coverage worry about keeping their coverage and 
        access to their providers;
Whereas women are more likely to seek essential preventive and routine care than 
        are men, 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 underinsured women (53 percent) and \2/3\ of uninsured 
        women (68 percent) forego needed care, and about half of the 
        underinsured (45 percent) and uninsured (51 percent) report difficulty 
        paying medical bills;
Whereas, in 2004, 1 in 6 women with individual coverage reported postponing or 
        going without needed care because she couldn't 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 reason 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 to 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 3 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 1st trimester and to receive the optimal 
        number of visits during their pregnancies, 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 rates 2 to 3 times higher and infant 
        mortality rates 6 times higher than that of women receiving early 
        prenatal care, as well as increased risk of low birthweight 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 2nd heart attack, demonstrating inequalities in access to 
        care;
Whereas health care disparities persist, leaving Hispanic and Native American 
        women and children 3 times more likely and African Americans nearly 
        twice as likely to be uninsured as non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas, in 2005, nearly 80 percent of the female population infected with the 
        human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was Black or Hispanic, and the 
        incidence rates of HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 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 1 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 to the economy, and face serious obstacles in 
        obtaining affordable health coverage for their employees;
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 the United States spends twice as much on health care as the median 
        industrialized nation, our health care system ranks near the bottom on 
        most measures of health status among the 30 developed nations of the 
        Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and 37th 
        in overall health performance among 191 nations; and
Whereas the National Institutes of Medicine (NIH) 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, That the Senate commits to pass, and urges the President 
sign into law, within the next 18 months, legislation that guarantees 
health care for all women and health care for all people of the United 
States 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 providers that 
        ensures continuity of coverage and a delivery system that meets 
        the needs 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) promotes administrative efficiency, reduces unnecessary 
        paperwork, and is easy for health care consumers and providers 
        to utilize; and
            (10) ensures a sufficient supply of qualified providers 
        through expanded medical and public health education and 
        adequate reimbursement.
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