[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7975-S7976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 638--SUPPORTING LEGISLATION PROMOTING IMPROVED HEALTH 
                CARE AND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN

  Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. Obama, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Cantwell, 
Mrs. McCaskill, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Boxer, 
Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions:

                              S. Res. 638

       Whereas women are the health care decisionmakers for 
     themselves and their families;
       Whereas women want affordable health care they can count on 
     throughout life transitions, such as starting a family, job 
     changes, part-time and full-time work, divorce, caring for an 
     elderly or sick family member, having a major disease, or 
     retiring;
       Whereas women with good health coverage worry about keeping 
     their coverage and access to their providers;
       Whereas women are more likely to seek essential preventive 
     and routine care than are men, are more likely to have a 
     chronic health condition, and are more likely to take a 
     prescription drug on a daily basis;
       Whereas women pay 68 percent more than men for out-of-
     pocket medical costs, due in large part to reproductive 
     health care needs;
       Whereas more than half of underinsured women (53 percent) 
     and \2/3\ of uninsured women (68 percent) forego needed care, 
     and about half of the underinsured (45 percent) and uninsured 
     (51 percent) report difficulty paying medical bills;
       Whereas, in 2004, 1 in 6 women with individual coverage 
     reported postponing or going without needed care because she 
     couldn't afford it;
       Whereas high-deductible health plans are often targeted to 
     young women as an inexpensive health coverage option, but 
     fail to cover pregnancy-related care, the most expensive 
     health event most young families face and the leading reason 
     for hospital stays;
       Whereas 75,000,000 adults (42 percent of the under-65 
     population) had either no insurance or inadequate insurance 
     in 2007, up from 35 percent in 2003;
       Whereas 47,000,000 people, nearly 16 percent of the United 
     States population, are uninsured, including 17,000,000 adult 
     women ages 18 to 64 (18 percent) and 9,000,000 children (12 
     percent);
       Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimated that lack of 
     health insurance coverage resulted in 18,000 excess deaths in 
     the United States in 2000 (a number which the Urban Institute 
     estimates grew to 22,000 by 2006) and that acquiring health 
     insurance reduces mortality rates for the uninsured by 10 to 
     15 percent;
       Whereas uninsured women with breast cancer are 30 to 50 
     percent more likely to die from the disease, and uninsured 
     women are 3 times less likely to have had a Pap test in the 
     last 3 years, with a 60 percent greater risk of late-stage 
     cervical cancer;
       Whereas 13 percent of all pregnant women are uninsured, 
     making them less likely to seek prenatal care in the 1st 
     trimester and to receive the optimal number of visits during 
     their pregnancies, and 31 percent more likely to experience 
     an adverse health outcome after giving birth;
       Whereas the lack or inadequate use of prenatal care is 
     associated with pregnancy-related mortality rates 2 to 3 
     times higher and infant mortality rates 6 times higher than 
     that of women receiving early prenatal care, as well as 
     increased risk of low birthweight and preterm birth;
       Whereas heart disease is the leading cause of death for 
     both women and men, but women are less likely to receive 
     lifestyle counseling, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, 
     and cardiac rehabilitation and more likely to die or have a 
     2nd heart attack, demonstrating inequalities in access to 
     care;
       Whereas health care disparities persist, leaving Hispanic 
     and Native American women and children 3 times more likely 
     and African Americans nearly twice as likely to be uninsured 
     as non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas, in 2005, nearly 80 percent of the female 
     population infected with the human immunodeficiency virus 
     (HIV) was Black or Hispanic, and the incidence rates of HIV 
     and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are 
     dramatically higher for Black and Hispanic women and 
     adolescents (60.2 and 15.8 per 100,000, respectively) than 
     for White women and adolescents (3.0 per 100,000);
       Whereas women are less likely than men to be insured 
     through their jobs and more likely to be insured as a 
     dependent, making them more vulnerable to insurance loss in 
     the event of divorce or death of a spouse;
       Whereas 64 percent of uninsured women are in families with 
     at least 1 adult working full-time;
       Whereas health care costs are increasingly unaffordable for 
     working families and employers, with employer-sponsored 
     health insurance premiums increasing 87 percent since 2000;
       Whereas America's 9,100,000 women-owned businesses employ 
     27,500,000 people, contribute $3,600,000,000 to the economy, 
     and face serious obstacles in obtaining affordable health 
     coverage for their employees;
       Whereas the lack of affordable health coverage creates 
     barriers for women who want to change jobs or create their 
     own small businesses;
       Whereas health care professionals and workers--a 
     significant portion of whom are women--have a stake in 
     achieving reform that allows them to provide the highest 
     quality care for their patients;
       Whereas 56 percent of all caregivers are women;
       Whereas the United States spends twice as much on health 
     care as the median industrialized nation, our health care 
     system ranks near the bottom on most measures of health 
     status among the 30 developed nations of the Organisation for 
     Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and 37th in 
     overall health performance among 191 nations; and
       Whereas the National Institutes of Medicine (NIH) estimates 
     that the cost of achieving full insurance coverage in the 
     United States would be less than the loss in economic 
     productivity from existing coverage gaps: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate commits to pass, and urges the 
     President sign into law, within the next 18 months, 
     legislation that guarantees health care for all women and 
     health care for all people of the United States and that--
       (1) recognizes the special role that women play as health 
     care consumers, caregivers, and providers;
       (2) guarantees inclusion of health care benefits essential 
     to achieving and maintaining good health, including 
     comprehensive reproductive health, pregnancy-related, and 
     infant care;
       (3) promotes primary and preventive care, including family 
     planning, contraceptive equity, and care continuity;
       (4) provides a choice of public and private plans and 
     direct access to a choice of doctors and health providers 
     that ensures continuity of coverage and a delivery system 
     that meets the needs of women;
       (5) eliminates health disparities in coverage, treatment, 
     and outcomes on the basis of gender, culture, race, 
     ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health status, and sexual 
     orientation;
       (6) shares responsibility for financing among employers, 
     individuals, and the government while taking into account the 
     needs of small businesses;
       (7) ensures that access to health care is affordable;
       (8) enhances quality and patient safety;
       (9) promotes administrative efficiency, reduces unnecessary 
     paperwork, and is easy for health care consumers and 
     providers to utilize; and
       (10) ensures a sufficient supply of qualified providers 
     through expanded medical and public health education and 
     adequate reimbursement.

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to issue a challenge on the 
need to reform health care. The resolution I am introducing today with 
my friend and colleague, Representative Jan Schakowsky, calls on 
Congress to send a plan to the next President that will ensure high-
quality and affordable health care for women and for all. I also am 
proud to be joined by my colleagues, Senators Obama, Klobuchar, 
Cantwell, McCaskill, Mikulski, Murray, Clinton, Boxer, and Kennedy.
  We spend twice as much on health care as any other industrialized 
nation, yet we have an unacceptably high number of Americans without 
health insurance--nearly 50 million. Millions more are also 
underinsured and have less coverage than they need. We are blessed with 
the best doctors, nurses, and other health providers in the world but 
rank 43rd in the world in infant mortality.
  We are all in this together. From working families to the uninsured, 
from multinational corporations to small businesses, we all face 
challenges in making sure Americans get the quality, affordable health 
care they need, when they need it. Rising costs are crippling our 
businesses and our economy. Health care costs make large businesses, 
like Michigan's automakers, less competitive globally and threaten the 
survival of small firms.
  We must ensure that no child is denied doctor visits, no pregnant 
woman has to choose between prenatal care and her rent, and no working 
family pays high premiums every month only to find that the care they 
most need isn't covered. And we need to end

[[Page S7976]]

health care disparities that affect women. For example, heart disease 
is a leading cause of death for both women and men but women are less 
likely to receive lifestyle counseling or other medical intervention 
and more likely to die or have a second heart attack.
  Women understand these hard choices and are calling on Congress to 
find a solution. As mothers with young children, women with aging 
parents, small business owners, health professionals and health care 
consumers, women confront problems in our health care system every day.
  We are pleased to have the support of numerous groups representing 
physicians, women, and families, including the American College of 
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Planned Parenthood, the National 
Women's Law Center, and the National Partnership for Women and 
Families.
  There is much work to be done to change our health care system and it 
is going to take everyone's best effort, working together, to achieve 
it. America's families, businesses, and providers cannot wait any 
longer. This resolution is a first step and a signal that we need to 
roll up our sleeves and get to work.

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