[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CLOSING THE HEALTH CARE GAP OF 2004

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes to make some 
comments on some current issues that occurred over the course of the 
day and in the news. To begin with, I wish to make a statement on a 
bill I had the opportunity to introduce earlier today but have not yet 
taken the opportunity to comment on, a bill entitled Closing the Health 
Care Gap of 2004.
  I was proud to join today with my colleagues, Senator Mary Landrieu, 
Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Mike DeWine, Senator Kit Bond, Senator 
James Talent, Senator John Warner, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to 
introduce this bill, Closing the Health Care Gap of 2004. It is a bill 
that addresses a major problem and a major challenge we have today in 
health care; that is, health care disparities.
  Last year, I outlined the framework for action to combat these health 
care disparities that plague our Nation's health care system. Since 
then, we have reached out broadly to a wide range of national leaders 
and Senate colleagues to gather their input and their ideas. As a 
result, I believe that legislation embodies an effective strategy to 
reduce and work toward elimination of these health care disparities.
  Over recent years, we have made tremendous advances in our knowledge 
of and our fight against disease. But we know millions of Americans 
today still experience disparities in health outcomes as a result of 
ethnicity, or race, or gender, or limited access to quality health 
care.
  A couple of examples: Disparity populations exhibit poor health 
outcomes and have higher rates of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer, infant 
mortality, and heart disease. The list of illnesses goes on and on. 
African Americans and Native Americans die younger than any other 
racial or ethnic group. African American and Native American babies die 
at significantly higher rates than the rest of the population. Native 
Americans, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans are twice as 
likely to suffer from diabetes and experience serious complications 
from their disease. Today these gaps are simply unacceptable. Today we 
begin a new and aggressive effort to address these inequities.
  This bill--Closing the Health Care Gap Act of 2004--addresses the 
root causes of health care disparities by focusing on five key areas.
  First, expanding access to quality health care.
  Second, strengthening national leadership efforts and coordination.
  Third, helping increase the diversity of health care professionals.
  Fourth, promoting more aggressive health professional education 
intended to reduce barriers to care.
  Fifth, enhancing research to identify sources of racial, of ethnic, 
and geographic disparities and assess promising intervention 
strategies.
  Every American believes that the best quality of health care 
possible, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or where they live, is 
deserving. The bipartisan ``closing the health care gap'' would go a 
long way toward achieving this goal.
  I appreciate the support of so many colleagues and prominent outside 
organizations, including the National Medical Association, the National 
Hispanic Medical Association, the Urban League, and the National 
Conference for Community and Justice. Together, we can make real 
progress toward eliminating health care disparities, closing the Health 
Care Gap Act of 2004.

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