Washington, D.C. – December 3, 2009
Today, the Senate passed two amendments to protect the nation’s women and seniors in the health reform bill.
The first amendment, sponsored by Senator Mikulski (D-MD) and Senator Snowe (R-ME) requires health plans to cover-with no or limited cost sharing-women’s preventive care and screenings provided for in evidence based guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Covered services could include screening for cervical, breast, and other gynecological cancers; counseling, testing, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and contraception and contraceptive counseling. The Senator said that her amendment helped usher in “… an era where decisions about preventive care and screenings are made by a woman and her doctor – not by an insurance company, Members of Congress, or a stranger – and women are guaranteed preventive screenings and care at no cost.”
The second amendment, sponsored by Senator Bennet (D-CO) passed unanimously. This amendment required that the health reform bill at least maintain the current level of services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Any cost savings generated by changes to the program under the bill would be kept within the program to help beneficiaries. “Only in Washington, D.C. could an effort to extend the life of Medicare somehow be distorted as being bad for seniors,” Bennet said. “The passage of this amendment means that we are making it absolutely clear that nothing in this bill will cut guaranteed Medicare benefits for our seniors. This bill will extend the Medicare trust fund, lower premiums, increase Medicare benefits, and improve access to providers for our seniors.”
The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance supports the Mikulski Amendment because it provides necessary evidence-based preventive measures to women. One of the few ways to prevent ovarian cancer is to take oral contraceptives. Women at high-risk of ovarian cancer may develop monitoring programs with their doctor and take contraceptives to lower their risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Karen Orloff Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance believes these two amendments will help ovarian cancer patients, and those at high risk of developing the disease. “The passage of the women’s health Amendment allows women access to oral contraceptives as ovarian cancer prevention. It is our hope that there will be a reliable early detection test for ovarian cancer in the future. We will continue to fight to advance the interests of women with ovarian cancer.”
- To take action on this issue, please click here
- To see the breakdown of votes, please visit the Senate’s web site
