[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 104 (Tuesday, August 2, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        DIABETES AND HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Eddie Bernice Johnson) is recognized during morning business for 1\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as with many 
diseases, a huge number of women who are afflicted with diabetes do not 
know that they have the disease. About one-half of the 6.5 million 
American women who have diabetes remain undiagnosed. For black women, 
the numbers are even more staggering--nearly 8 percent of black women 
in America have diabetes, and blacks suffer higher rates of 
complications from the disease, including higher rates of blindness and 
kidney failure.
  As we turn to health care reform, we need to be reminded that in many 
cases, people with diabetes go without health insurance because of pre-
existing condition exclusions--health care reform must eliminate this 
problem.
  Another must of health care reform is a greater emphasis on 
preventive care, which would increase the likelihood that people with 
diabetes can have their affliction diagnosed, and can be educated about 
the disease. Regular checkups as a part of preventive care will also 
reduce the risk of complications from the disease.
  We should all be reminded at this critical juncture in the health 
care debate that preventive care saves money, and more importantly, 
saves lives.

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