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ASSEMBLY TO ACT ON COMPREHENSIVE WOMEN'S HEALTH
AGENDA Legislative package stresses preventative health care, family-planning and pre-natal services |
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RealAudio Clips from Speaker Sheldon Silver's News Conference On Women's
Health Legislation.
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Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today announced expected legislative action on a series of measures aimed at improving access to vital health services for New York State women. The cornerstone of the agenda is the "Women's Health and Wellness Act" that encourages early detection and prevention of health and medical conditions affecting women, such as breast and cervical cancer and osteoporosis. "For the past three years, the Assembly Majority has pushed for the enactment of legislation to promote women's health issues through sound preventative measures," said Silver. "This comprehensive agenda seeks to provide the best health care services to the greatest number of women in this state." Silver stressed that under Assembly legislation, every woman in New York State would have access to vital preventative services based on their employment, insurance coverage or ability to pay an insurance deductible. "When it comes to quality health care, no woman in this state should be left behind," said Silver, who noted that the Assembly's legislative package covers a range of women's health conditions and diseases related to breast and cervical cancer and osteoporosis, as well as contraception. |
Announcing the Assembly's legislative agenda, Silver credited Assembly member Deborah Glick for her ongoing commitment to advancing women's health issues. "Assembly member Glick has been an ardent supporter of efforts to increase awareness of women's health issues and improve access to needed services. She is to be commended for her steadfast commitment to these efforts."
" Unless we eliminate the financial barriers which cause women to defer or delay crucial diagnostic screenings, women's health will be jeopardized," said Glick (D-Manhattan).
Major provisions of the Assembly package would:
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Require health insurers to provide coverage for bone density measurement and any necessary drugs or devices needed to treat osteoporosis (A.2006-Glick); |
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Remove deductibles or co-payments for mammography screenings and cervical cytology screenings (A.2006-Glick); |
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Require insurance coverage for annual mammography screenings for all women more than 40-years-old (A.2004-Carrozza); |
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Require all health insurance policies that provide prescriptive drug coverage to include contraceptives (A.2002-John); and |
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Extend health insurance coverage for mammography and cervical cytology screenings to multi-state policies (A.2006-Glick). |
At an afternoon news conference announcing the agenda, Silver was joined by bill sponsors Assembly members Glick, Susan John and Ann Margaret Carrozza, Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried and Assembly Insurance Committee Chair Alexander "Pete" Grannis and Assembly Task Force on Women's Issues Chair Joan Millman.
"Making quality health care options available to all New Yorkers has been a cornerstone of the Assembly Majority's legislative agenda for many years," said Gottfried (D-Manhattan). "With these bills, we continue our efforts to make comprehensive health care services a right of all our state's residents.
"Everyone knows that prevention and early detection of illness are key to effective medical care," said Grannis. "By removing financial barriers to life-saving tests and creating access to new screening techniques, this bill will help us achieve that goal."
"Women should no longer be forced to pay for a prescription that, in many cases, is a medical necessity. Health insurance coverage should be extended to include prescribed contraceptives, which often prevent unintended pregnancies for women with serious medical problems, such as heart conditions or severe diabetes," said John (D-Rochester). Reproductive health care is a vital and necessary part of women's health. The Assembly has consistently supported the availability of affordable reproductive health care, and this legislation is a continuous step in that direction."
"By insisting that insurance companies cover annual breast exams, we are ensuring that New York women have the opportunity to take full advantage of the screening process," said Carrozza (D,I-Queens). "If we can prevent even one death as a result of annual screening, then this program will be considered a success."
Also present at the event were representatives of the 80-member Women's Health and Wellness Coalition, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists NYS, the New York State Medical Society, NARAL/NY, Family Planning Advocates, the American Association of University Women, the American Cancer Society, the National Council of Jewish Women and the New York State Nurses Association.
In a related matter, Silver announced that the Assembly would be acting shortly on the Assembly initiated Work and Wellness Act enabling workers with disabilities to be eligible to purchase Medicaid health care coverage.
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