[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 71 (Monday, May 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2893-S2894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I, along with most Americans, celebrated
Mother's Day yesterday with my wife, my daughter, and my grandchildren,
to express our appreciation for what mothers all over the world have
done in order to help our communities. In America, we have taken action
to help women in this country. I am referring to the passage of the
Affordable Care Act, which has helped childbearing women and child
rearing throughout the child's life, as well as the mother and the
family.
Let me give some examples because I think it is good to point out
where we have made progress and to celebrate what we have done to help
women in America. We have taken on the arbitrary practices of private
insurance companies that discriminated against women, against pregnant
women, and against mothers. A woman can now choose her own OB/GYN
doctor as her primary care doctor, no longer having to wait for
authorization or to get a referral in order to have OB/GYN care. Women
now have the absolute right to choose their own primary care doctor,
including an OB/GYN.
Under the Affordable Care Act, every woman in America is guaranteed
an annual well-woman visit to be able to assess their health, including
mammography screening, pap smears, diabetes screening, and other
preventive screenings services at no cost. That is all provided in the
Affordable Care Act, so a woman can take care of her own health care
needs and, in many cases, avoiding much more costly and debilitating
care. Again, this is at no cost. So there is no reason why a woman
cannot take advantage of these services. HPV DNA testing is now
available every 3 years under the Affordable Care Act to deal with the
sexual health of women. STI counseling and HIV screening for sexually
active women are now available under the Affordable Care Act. This is
now guaranteed. Women don't have to go look at the fine print of an
insurance policy to see whether they have coverage. Before, in most
cases, they didn't have coverage. Women don't have to wait for
authorization, having to show a need. These are given rights that are
now available to every woman under the Affordable Care Act.
No longer can pregnancy be considered a preexisting condition. Before
the passage of the Affordable Care Act, if a woman wanted to get an
insurance policy, insurers excluded childbirth during the first perhaps
9 months or later. It was considered a preexisting condition. Now we
have a seamless system, so women can get the type of care they need.
Why does that become so important? So they can get the necessary
prenatal care in order to keep their baby healthy, to get the type of
tests that are necessary.
Pregnant women can now get a gestational diabetes screening to see
whether they are at high risk and, if so, they can get the type of
treatment they need in order to make sure their baby is born as healthy
as possible.
Prenatal care is available and it is covered, and we now have,
through the Affordable Care Act, a provision we added that provides
support for qualified health centers. I have visited qualified health
centers in Maryland that are now providing prenatal care that wasn't
there before. It is not only that we are providing coverage; we are
providing access to care, so we can reduce low birth weight babies in
our community. Look at the numbers of infant survival. Look at the
numbers of low birth weight babies. We are improving those numbers
daily because of the Affordable Care Act. To be able to prevent and
discover complications during pregnancy, including preterm outcomes--
all of that is now available.
Women now have access to folic acid to make sure a woman has a
healthier fetus and birth. All of that is now available under the
Affordable Care Act.
We help newborns and their mothers. Breast feeding has been proven to
be a very strong part of a healthy infancy and for a baby. There are
certain needs a mother has, including having the time to breast feed,
and the cost of breast feeding, including breast pumps. That is now
covered under the Affordable Care Act.
We understand the need to keep people healthier, and that is why we
call it
[[Page S2894]]
a wellness program. No longer is it insurance just to take care of an
illness or injury; it is to keep people healthy and for women
particularly. We didn't do a good job for many years. We are now making
up for it in the Affordable Care Act, making a huge difference.
We are giving peace of mind to women all over this country about
having adequate third-party coverage so they can afford to take care of
their own health and the health of their families.
Adult children can remain on parents' insurance policies until age
26. We have all received so many letters from our constituents saying:
Thank goodness we have that provision. My 24-year-old never thought she
would get ill. Now she has this insurance coverage so we can take care
of her and keep her healthy, and when she needs health care, it is
available, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
Today millions of Americans today who didn't have it before, now have
quality, affordable health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care
Act. It is peace of mind. They can now carry an insurance card. I got a
letter from one of my constituents saying how it felt to have an
insurance card in her possession, knowing that it worked as a ticket to
take care of her health care and the health care of her family.
No longer can an insurance company discriminate in ratings against
women--a huge deal. The discriminatory rates were aimed against women,
and we have eliminated that under the Affordable Care Act.
We have eliminated preexisting condition restrictions. I already
talked about pregnancy. But it was amazing how women particularly were
discriminated against because of preexisting conditions, where they
couldn't get full coverage to take care of all of their needs. That is
over, including for their children. Many families told us they had a
child with asthma and they couldn't get full coverage. Now they can get
full coverage, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. They now have peace
of mind and adequate coverage to take care of their needs.
We had the end of the caps on health insurance. No longer do people
have to worry: Should I do this or not? Will I hit my annual limit or
my lifetime limit?
They are gone. If they need insurance, it is there to protect them.
That is what insurance should do: Protect families.
So we have made a huge difference.
I am particularly proud of the prudent layperson provision for
emergency care. I can't tell my colleagues how many times we had
circumstances where people needed to go to the emergency room because
they thought they had a true emergency with chest pain and sweating,
and they would go to the emergency room. The good news was they weren't
having a heart attack. The bad news is they got a bill from their
insurance company telling them that because they didn't have a heart
attack they have to pay this bill. That is over. We have now legislated
the prudent layperson standard so it is now right for a person to seek
urgent care, and the insurance company must cover that visit for urgent
care.
I could continue to list so many ways we have helped all people in
this country but particularly women. It is tough enough to give birth
to a baby and to raise a child. We have made it easier by taking away
some of the burdens regarding our health care system.
So this past Sunday, when we celebrated Mother's Day, we could also
point to a very tangible accomplishment this Congress has been able to
deliver for all of our mothers in this country, and I was proud to be a
part of making that a reality.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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