Health Care Reform: How It Will Benefit Women

Floor Speech

Ms. CHU. Women of America, Republicans want you to believe that our health care reform bill is poison, that doing nothing is better for the Nation. But it is the status quo that is poison.

Today, women are forced to settle for less health care at a higher price. We pay as much as 50 percent more than men, a practice of discrimination that is legal in 38 States. But this bill prohibits insurance companies from charging women more for the same coverage.

Today, women are turned away from buying insurance due to so-called preexisting conditions such as domestic violence, pregnancy, and C-sections. But this bill makes it illegal to deny coverage due to any preexisting condition, including breast cancer.

Today fewer than half of America's women can get health insurance through work because they stay at home, work at small businesses, or work part time. But through this bill, every woman can buy coverage through the exchange that will cover maternity and preventative care.

This is why women in America need this health care reform bill and why I strongly support this legislation.

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