Today we saw the Senate health reform bill strengthened with the inclusion of Senator Mikulski's Women's Health Amendment. As a son, husband and father, I fully supported this proposal, which requires all health plans to cover comprehensive women's preventive care and screenings and to do so at no additional cost to women.
Under the status quo, more than half of women delay or avoid preventive care because of its cost. That means postponed mammograms or missed screenings for heart disease and osteoporosis. The insurance companies block coverage to women which forces them to pay 68 percent more than men in out-of-pocket health care costs.
Now with Senator Mikulski's amendment included in health insurance reform, we can make sure that women receive the preventive care and screenings they need, while preserving the relationship between a doctor and patient in determining what services are best for them.
To find out more, you can read an article about the Women's Health Amendment from the New York Times health care blog here .
