•HCON 400 IH 
dence rates are dramatically higher for black and His-
panic women and adolescents (60.2 and 15.8 per 
100,000, respectively) than for white women and adoles-
cents (3.0 per 100,000); 
Whereas women are less likely than men to be insured 
through their jobs and more likely to be insured as a de-
pendent, making them more vulnerable to insurance loss 
in the event of divorce or death of a spouse; 
Whereas 64 percent of uninsured women are in families with 
at least one adult working full-time; 
Whereas health care costs are increasingly unaffordable for 
working families and employers, with employer-sponsored 
health insurance premiums increasing 87 percent since 
2000; 
Whereas America’s 9,100,000 women-owned businesses em-
ploy 27,500,000 people, contribute $3,600,000,000,000 
to the economy, and face serious obstacles in obtaining 
affordable health coverage, 
Whereas the lack of affordable health coverage creates bar-
riers for women who want to change jobs or create their 
own small businesses; 
Whereas health care professionals and workers—a significant 
portion of whom are women—have a stake in achieving 
reform that allows them to provide the highest quality 
care for their patients; 
Whereas 56 percent of all caregivers are women; 
Whereas although the United States spends twice as much on 
health care as the median industrialized nation, the Na-
tion’s health care system ranks near the bottom on most 
measures of health status among the 30 developed na-
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•HCON 400 IH 
tions of the OECD and 37th in overall health perform-
ance among 191 nations; and 
Whereas the Institute of Medicine estimates that the cost of 
achieving full insurance coverage in the United States 
would be less than the loss in economic productivity from 
existing coverage gaps: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress commits to pass, and 
urges the President sign into law, within the next 18 
months, legislation that guarantees health care for women 
and health care for all and that— 
(1) recognizes the special role that women play 
as health care consumers, caregivers, and providers; 
(2) guarantees inclusion of health care benefits 
essential to achieving and maintaining good health, 
including comprehensive reproductive health, preg-
nancy-related, and infant care; 
(3) promotes primary and preventive care, in-
cluding family planning, contraceptive equity, and 
care continuity; 
(4) provides a choice of public and private plans 
and direct access to a choice of doctors and health 
care providers to ensure continuity of coverage and 
a delivery system that meets the need of women; 
(5) eliminates health disparities in coverage, 
treatment, and outcomes on the basis of gender, cul-
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ture, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health 
status, and sexual orientation; 
(6) shares responsibility for financing among 
employers, individuals, and the Government while 
taking into account the needs of small businesses; 
(7) ensures that access to health care is afford-
able; 
(8) enhances quality and patient safety; 
(9) ensures a sufficient supply of qualified pro-
viders through expanded medical and public health 
education and adequate reimbursement; and 
(10) promotes administration efficiency, reduces 
unnecessary paperwork, and is easy for health care 
consumers and providers to utilize. 
Æ 
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