[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WORKING WOMEN DESERVE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that 19 percent of women in 
the United States lack health insurance coverage. Women and their 
children are disproportionately represented among the Nation's 
uninsured population, primarily due to the number of women in service 
jobs and retail jobs which have low rates of employer-provided 
insurance and lower wages. Many working women have part-time jobs where 
health benefits are not offered by the employer or cannot afford the 
premiums to purchase the insurance.
  Women who are insured through their spouse's employment are often 
more susceptible to disruptions in health care coverage. Divorce, death 
of a spouse, change in job status of a spouse or a change in the 
dependent coverage through an employer could result in a woman and her 
children losing health insurance.
  We also know that women are living longer, yet the quality of their 
lives is not always better. Women are more likely to be uninsured than 
men, and this lack of health insurance is a public health risk.
  Studies show that people without health insurance are less likely to 
receive care and more likely to delay seeking care for acute medical 
problems. This ultimately adds to the cost because in many cases their 
medical conditions become more serious producing adverse outcomes that 
will need extensive follow-up care. Uninsured individuals are less 
likely to receive primary care or preventive services, which would keep 
medical conditions from becoming worse.
  We all know that women who are diagnosed with breast or gynecological 
cancers at a later stage are more likely to die from those conditions 
and diseases than those who detect it early. This is an even greater 
health risk because we know women disproportionately take care of the 
family. And as caretakers, women simply do not have the time to be 
sick. That is why education and prevention and proper health insurance 
is so vital.
  Working women deserve health insurance coverage for themselves and 
for their children. I am optimistic that we can begin to address the 
problem of the 43 million people in America who are uninsured and the 
many more who are underinsured, so that no man, woman or child in this 
country has health care needs that are not being addressed. No one 
should be left behind.

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