[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCING THE HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 1, 2008

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Health Care 
for Women Resolution of 2008 with my colleague in the Senate, Senator 
Debbie Stabenow. As we move towards enacting comprehensive Universal 
Health Care we cannot leave out the important and unique health care 
issues of women. Women are often responsible for safeguarding the care 
for their families and they must be a central part of every universal 
health care debate.
  I believe that the Health Care for Women Resolution recognizes the 
numerous of women as health care decision makers, caregivers and 
providers and requires that lawmakers acknowledge their needs during 
health care reform conversations.
  We know that women face exceptional challenges and have a very 
personal stake in fixing our broken health care system. It is 
unacceptable that more women are uninsured and pay more for health care 
than their male counterparts. This resolution calls on Congress to take 
notice of these obstacles and make significant gains in solving these 
problems.
  This resolution asks Congress to pass legislation within 18 months 
that provides health care for women and health care for all. I am all 
too familiar with how tough it is to provide care for our families. As 
a mother, grandmother and member of Congress, I will fight to make sure 
that women play a central part in every health care discussion.
  The need for this resolution is clear. More than 17 million non-
elderly women were uninsured in 2006, an increase of 1.2 million women 
since 2004. Women also pay 68 percent more than men for out-of-pocket 
medical costs, largely because of their reproductive health needs. 
Thirteen percent of all pregnant women are uninsured making them less 
likely to seek prenatal care and more likely to experience an adverse 
outcome after giving birth or pregnancy-related mortality.
  Older women are particularly at risk. They often receive care through 
their husband and can become uninsured if their husband dies or loses 
private insurance by becoming eligible for Medicare. Because they have 
less disposable income, older women also have trouble paying growing 
out-of-pocket costs for the care they need. Moreover many older women 
have periodically left the workforce to raise families or care for 
aging family members they tend to have lower Social Security and 
pension benefits required to help them with increasing chronic care 
conditions.
  Any health care discussions must also take into account the barriers 
women of color face in accessing quality care. Hispanic and Native 
American women and children are 3 times and African Americans nearly 
twice as likely to be uninsured that non-Hispanic whites.
  I along with 32 of my colleagues in both the House and Senate agree, 
it is time to start acknowledging women in all efforts that we make to 
solve our nation's growing health care crisis.
  I urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation.

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