[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14506]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS--DIRECT ACCESS TO OB-GYN CARE

  (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a 
key difference between the Ganske-Dingell bipartisan patients' bill of 
rights and the Fletcher alternative: direct access to OB-GYN care.
  During my tenure in the State assembly, I wrote California's law that 
gives women direct access to their OB-GYN. This is a simple issue. A 
woman should not need a permission slip to see her doctor.
  Women have different medical needs than men. OB-GYNs often have the 
most appropriate medical education and experience to address a woman's 
health care needs. Statistics in fact show that if there are too many 
barriers between a woman and her doctor, she is less likely to get the 
medical care that she needs.
  The Ganske-Dingell bipartisan patients' bill of rights will require 
all health plans to give women direct access to their OB-GYN. The 
Fletcher alternative on the other hand includes conditions that could 
increase the time, the expense, and the inconvenience of a necessary 
doctor's appointment.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for the real patients' bill of rights, 
the Ganske-Dingell bill, and give their female constituents access to 
the health care they deserve.


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