[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE POSTREPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE ACT

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 5, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, today I and my colleagues, Congresswomen 
Waters, Norton, Woolsey, and Jackson-Lee, are reintroducing the 
Postreproductive Health Care Act. This is a bill that former 
Representative Marilyn Lloyd introduced in the previous Congress to 
address the all-too-often ignored health care needs of older women.
  This legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
[HHS] to provide grants to health clinics serving women so they can 
develop programs to meet the unique needs of mid-life and older women.
  Most clinics devote the majority of their resources to serving young 
women in their reproductive years, providing family planning and 
prenatal care services. For some women, this is their only contact with 
the health care system. As these women age and their need for 
reproductive and childbirth-related care ends, so may their contact 
with the health care system. Yet women's health needs do not end at 
menopause; in fact, they often increase.
  This legislation would enable clinics to provide a continuity of 
service from the reproductive years through the menopausal years. It 
would help clinics offer services and train professionals in mid-life 
issues such as menopause, hormone replacement therapy, hysterectomy, 
and cancer screening/prevention. And it would provide funds to help 
train clinic staff about issues affecting older and mid-life women.
  The bill also would help improve outreach services to low-income 
women in such areas as heart disease, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. 
Information and education are urgently needed for these women. While 
both breast and cervical cancer increase with age, disproportionately 
fewer low-income women over age 40 have had a clinical breast exam and 
mammogram; the figures for pap smears are even more dismal.
  Menopause is a confusing time for many women, especially those who do 
not have the resources to differentiate between medical facts, harmful 
stereotypes, and lore. This legislation would fight misinformation with 
accurate information and services specifically related to menopause.
  I urge my colleagues to support this much-needed approach to 
preventative health care for women.

                          ____________________