[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 6 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 6

   Expressing the sense of Congress that national health care reform 
     should ensure that the health care needs of women and of all 
               individuals in the United States are met.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2009

Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Sanders) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
        the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of Congress that national health care reform 
     should ensure that the health care needs of women and of all 
               individuals in the United States are met.

Whereas women often make health care decisions for themselves and their 
        families;
Whereas women have expressed a desire to have affordable health care on which 
        they can depend throughout their lives and through life transitions, 
        including starting a family, changing jobs, working part-time or full-
        time, divorce, caring for an elderly or sick family member, having a 
        major disease, and retirement;
Whereas women with good health care coverage worry about maintaining such 
        coverage and keeping their health care providers;
Whereas women are more likely than men to seek essential preventive and routine 
        care, to have a chronic health condition, and 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 approximately 53 percent of underinsured individuals, and 68 percent of 
        uninsured individuals, forgo needed care and approximately 45 percent of 
        underinsured individuals, and 51 percent of uninsured individuals, 
        report difficulty paying medical bills;
Whereas, in 2004, 1 in 6 women with individual health care coverage reported 
        that they postponed, or went without, needed health care because they 
        could not afford such health care;
Whereas high-deductible health insurance plans often are marketed to young women 
        as an inexpensive health care coverage option, but such plans often fail 
        to cover pregnancy-related care, the most expensive health care event 
        most young families face and the leading cause of hospital stays for 
        young women;
Whereas, in 2007, 42 percent of the under-65 population in the United States, 
        approximately 75,000,000 adults, had either no insurance or inadequate 
        insurance, up from 35 percent in 2003;
Whereas nearly 16 percent of people in the United States (approximately 
        47,000,000 people) are uninsured, including 18 percent of adult women 
        aged 18 to 64 (approximately 17,000,000 women) and 12 percent of 
        children (approximately 9,000,000 children);
Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimated that, in 2000, lack of health care 
        coverage resulted in 18,000 excess deaths in the United States (a number 
        that the Urban Institute estimated grew to 22,000 by 2006) and estimated 
        that acquiring health insurance reduces mortality rates for previously 
        uninsured individuals by 10 to 15 percent;
Whereas women rely on women's health care providers throughout their lives, for 
        comprehensive primary and preventive care, surgical care, and treatment 
        and management of both acute and long-term health problems;
Whereas a ``medical home'' should ensure each woman direct access to women's 
        health care providers and care coordination throughout her lifetime;
Whereas uninsured women with breast cancer are 30 to 50 percent more likely than 
        insured women with breast cancer to die from the disease, and uninsured 
        women are 3 times less likely than insured women to have had a Pap test 
        in the last 3 years, putting uninsured women at 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 of their pregnancies, less 
        likely to receive the optimal number of prenatal health care visits 
        during their pregnancies, and 31 percent more likely to experience an 
        adverse health outcome after giving birth;
Whereas the lack, or inadequate receipt, 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, and also 
        is associated with an 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 than men to receive lifestyle counseling, 
        diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and cardiac rehabilitation and 
        are more likely to die or have a second heart attack, demonstrating 
        inequalities between women and men in access to health care;
Whereas persisting health care disparities also are evident in that Hispanic and 
        Native American women and children are 3 times as likely, and African-
        American women are nearly twice as likely, to be uninsured than non-
        Hispanic white women;
Whereas, in 2005, nearly 80 percent of the female population with HIV/AIDS was 
        African-American or Hispanic, and HIV/AIDS incidence rates are 
        dramatically higher for African-American 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 receive health insurance through their 
        employers and more likely than men to be insured as a dependent, making 
        them more vulnerable than men 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 having 
        increased 87 percent between 2000 and 2006;
Whereas the approximately 9,100,000 women-owned businesses in the United States 
        employ 27,500,000 individuals, contribute $3,600,000,000,000 to the 
        economy, and face serious obstacles in obtaining affordable health care 
        coverage for their employees;
Whereas the lack of affordable health care coverage creates barriers for women 
        who want to change jobs or create their own small businesses;
Whereas health care professionals, a significant portion of which are women, 
        have a stake in achieving reform that allows them to provide the highest 
        quality of care for their patients;
Whereas 56 percent of all health caregivers are women;
Whereas although the United States spends twice as much on health care as the 
        median industrialized nation, among the 30 developed nations of the 
        Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the health care 
        system of the United States ranks near the bottom on most measures of 
        health status and ranks 37th in overall health performance among 191 
        nations; and
Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimates that the cost of achieving full 
        health 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 Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) commits to passing, not later than 18 months after the 
        adoption of this resolution by Congress, legislation that 
        guarantees health care for women and all individuals and 
        establishes coverage that enables women to attain good health 
        that they can maintain during their reproductive years and 
        throughout their lives and that--
                    (A) recognizes the special role that women play as 
                health care consumers, caregivers, and providers;
                    (B) guarantees a level of benefits and care, 
                including comprehensive reproductive health care, 
                pregnancy-related care, and infant care, that is 
                necessary to achieve and maintain good health 
                throughout a woman's lifetime and lessen the burdens 
                caused by poor health;
                    (C) promotes primary and preventive care, including 
                family planning, contraceptive equity, and care 
                continuity;
                    (D) provides a choice of public and private health 
                insurance plans and direct access to a choice of health 
                care providers to ensure continuity of coverage and a 
                delivery system that meets the needs of women;
                    (E) eliminates health disparities in coverage, 
                treatment, and outcomes on the basis of gender, 
                culture, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health 
                status, and sexual orientation;
                    (F) shares responsibility for financing among 
                employers, individuals, and the government, while 
                taking into account the needs of small businesses;
                    (G) ensures that access to health care is 
                affordable;
                    (H) enhances health care quality and patient 
                safety;
                    (I) ensures a sufficient supply of qualified 
                providers through expanded medical and public health 
                education and adequate reimbursement;
                    (J) ensures every woman access to a women's 
                ``medical home'', including direct access to women's 
                health care providers and care coordination, throughout 
                each woman's lifetime;
                    (K) recognizes and promotes the role of women as 
                providers of health care; and
                    (L) promotes administrative efficiency, reduces 
                unnecessary paperwork, and is easy for health care 
                consumers and providers to use; and
            (2) urges the President to sign such legislation into law.
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