Senator Mikulski on Women's Health Care

Thought I would share the following from Senator Mikulski's newsletter.

Mikulski Amendment Guarantees Women Access to Affordable Preventive Care

Last week, the Senate put women first in health care reform when it passed my amendment to guarantee women access to preventive care and screenings at no cost. It was the first amendment considered and approved in the Senate's debate on health care reform.

We must end the punitive practices of the private insurance companies that treat simply being a woman as a preexisting condition. That's why I support the Senate health reform bill and why I introduced my amendment. In the United States of America, health care is a women's issue. Health care reform is a must-do women's issue, and health insurance reform is a must–change women's issue.

Too often women face the punitive practices of insurance companies that charge women more and give them less in benefits. A 25–year–old woman pays more for health insurance than her male counterpart of the same health status. A 40–year–old woman pays almost 35 percent more for her insurance than a man of similar age and health status.

More than half of American women report that they skip or delay needed care due to cost. My amendment guarantees that women of all ages will receive, at no cost, an annual women's health exam, which will include screenings for the leading causes of death for women — cancer, heart disease, and chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

Right now, insurance company bureaucrats decide what preventive services will be covered for women. But we know that early detection saves lives, curtails the expansion of disease, and, in the long run, saves money. That's why my amendment expands key preventive services for women based on recommendations of women's health experts - scientists and doctors - and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

And under my amendment, decisions about preventive care and screenings - like mammograms - will be made between a woman and her doctor in a medical office. It will not be made by an insurance company, a member of Congress or by a stranger.

Without this amendment, there would be no guarantee that women under 50 would be covered for mammograms, no guarantee of an annual women's health exam that would include screenings for heart disease, and no guarantee that women would have access to this preventive care at no cost. Insurance companies have used every trick in the book to deny coverage to women. This amendment makes sure that the insurance companies must cover the basic care that women need at no cost.

It's a big step forward. But with votes on the final legislation ahead, the fight's not over yet. Women can count on me to keep fighting for them on the Senate floor and all the way to the White House to end punitive insurance company practices that discriminate against women in the insurance marketplace.