Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009

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Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment offered by the senior Senator from Maryland.

This amendment tackles a serious problem: Women are increasingly skipping critical preventive health care screenings because of costs, even when they have health insurance.

This summer, I received an e-mail from a woman named Julie in Raleigh, NC, about her sister who had no insurance and waited years to get a mammogram because she couldn't afford to pay the $125 fee for a mammogram. Then she found a lump in her breast.

Eventually, the mass grew so large Julie's sister finally got her mammogram and paid for it with cash. The mammogram confirmed what she had suspected, that she had breast cancer. But now that she had a diagnosis, she had no way to pay for the treatment.

She lost her battle with breast cancer in March of this year. Julie's sister, perhaps, could have beaten this cancer if she had had access to affordable, preventive care and, after her diagnosis, access to insurance or medical care to cover her cancer treatment.

In this heartbreaking situation, Julie's sister was sick and stuck. This health care reform bill will provide people such as Julie's sister with access to affordable, quality health insurance.

The President of Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, NC, wrote to me recently that a few years ago, he was in a meeting with 20 to 30 of his nursing assistants who were covered by the hospital's insurance plan. Of those who were old enough to require a mammogram, only 20 percent had actually gotten one. The reason, they said, was the high out-of-pocket costs they would have to pay.

When these women had to choose between feeding their children, paying the rent, and meeting other financial obligations, they skipped important preventive screenings and took a chance with their personal health.

The hospital then decided to remove the financial barrier to preventive care and pay for 100 percent of preventive screenings.

With the passage of Senator Mikulski's amendment, we will do the same for all women. A comprehensive list of women's preventive services will be covered with no added out-of-pocket expenses.

With this amendment, we will ensure that, as the old saying goes, ``An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'' for women across America.

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