[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 41 (Friday, March 19, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1659-H1660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WOMEN AND HEALTH CARE

  (Ms. McCOLLUM asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Rising health care costs and inadequate coverage burden 
many Americans, women in particular. It's unfair and it's wrong.
  Women can be denied and charged a higher insurance premium than men 
for just having what's called a preexisting condition. Let me give you 
an example of what that preexisting condition is.

[[Page H1660]]

  In 2006, attorney Jody Neal-Post tried to get health insurance but 
was rejected. Why? Because of treatment she received after a domestic 
abuse incident. Her insurer told her that her medical history made her 
a higher risk, more likely to end up in an emergency room and need 
care.
  1.3 million American women are victims of physical assault by an 
intimate partner each year, and 85 percent of domestic violence victims 
are women. We can help the one out of every four women who are victims 
of domestic violence by stopping them from being victimized again by 
their insurance companies.
  We can protect our grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters, and 
daughters by ending this abusive practice now. Pass health care reform 
now.

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