[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 109 (Tuesday, August 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           THE NEED TO ADDRESS DIABETES IN HEALTH CARE REFORM

                                 ______


                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 9, 1994

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, today I call attention to diabetes, a very 
serious health problem in West Virginia as well as the entire United 
States.
  My home State of West Virginia has the sixth highest percentage of 
patients suffering from diabetes in the country. Of the 1.8 million 
residents of West Virginia, approximately 173,000 suffer from diabetes. 
This is 10 percent of the population over 40 years of age and 6 percent 
of those over 18. West Virginia has the highest diabetic mortality rate 
in the Nation. Diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic 
amputations, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, and birth 
defects. Nationwide, 14,000,000 Americans suffer from this disease 
which has no cure. These statistics represent the emphatic need we, as 
Americans, feel for health care reform.
  Preexisting condition clauses in insurance policies present a 
tremendous burden to diabetic patients when they are seeking coverage. 
If proper care to manage diabetes is not made available, the health 
care system will be forced to pay for the costly treatment of the many 
complications of diabetes. With adequate health care treatment in the 
early stages of diabetes the chance that the patient will become blind 
is reduced by 70 percent, the risk of kidney failure is reduced by 70 
percent, and diabetic related birth defects are reduced by 70 percent 
as well. Today, diabetic patients will not receive proper care until 
after they suffer from one of these abhorrent complications. The 
expenses of treating many of these complications such as amputations, 
nerve damage, and patients on dialysis are far greater than the costs 
of early diabetic treatments that can prevent most of these 
complications.
  Mr. Speaker, as we begin debating health care reform, we must 
remember Americans suffering from diabetic like diseases for they are 
the ones who most need universal coverage and suffer from the 
consequences of preexisting condition clauses. People have a right to 
receive adequate treatment for their illnesses and avoid outrageous 
medical expenses. By not providing adequate treatment to those who need 
it, we infringe upon the basic right to live healthy productive lives. 
I urge my colleagues to remember these Americans during the debate on 
health care reform.

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