[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE WOMAN ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an 
issue that is critical to women's health: direct access to OB-GYNs. Too 
many women are denied access or forced to jump through numerous 
bureaucratic hoops before they can see their OB-GYN. This is simply 
unacceptable. A woman should not need a permission slip to see her 
doctor.
  OB-GYNs provide basic critical health care for women, and every woman 
deserves direct access to her doctor. A recent American College of 
Obstetricians and Gynecologists/Princeton survey of OB-GYNs show that 
60 percent of all OB-GYNs in managed care reported that their patients 
are either limited or barred from seeing their OB-GYN without first 
getting permission from another physician. Nearly 75 percent also 
reported that their patients have to return to their primary care 
physician for permission before they can see their OB-GYN for necessary 
follow-up care. Equally astounding is that 28 percent of the OB-GYNs 
surveyed reported that even pregnant women must first receive another 
physician's permission before seeing an OB-GYN.
  After meeting with women, obstetricians and gynecologists, health 
plans and providers in the State of California, I wrote a State law 
that gives women direct access to their OB-GYN. That law was a good 
first step. However, it still does not cover over 4.3 million 
Californians enrolled in self-insured, federally regulated health 
plans. In March, I introduced the Woman Act to close this loophole and 
ensure all women in California have direct access to their OB-GYN.
  Clearly this problem is not unique to California. There are still 
eight States that do not guarantee a woman direct access to her OB-GYN. 
Equally important to remember is that even if a woman lives in a State 
with direct access protections like California, she may not be able to 
see her OB-GYN without a referral if she is covered by a federally 
regulated ERISA health plan. This means that one in three insured 
families are not protected by State direct access to OB-GYN laws.
  The time has clearly come to make direct access to OB-GYN a national 
standard. I urge you, Mr. Speaker, and all my colleagues to pass this 
critical legislation quickly into law.

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