Agenda - 12-04-2006-7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. Access to Health Care 0 Access to Health cage Over twenty-percent or approximately 1 in 5 women of childbearing age in NC is uninsured according to The Alan Guttmacher Institute, whose fmdings were based on the Current Population Survey. According to 2003 figures recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, NC had the tenth largest growth in percentage of people without health insurance. Other studies suggest that even more women are underinsured, which means that their health insurance does not adequately meet their health needs such as providing coverage for preventive health care or necessary and costly medical procedures. The importance of preventive health care, which can aid in earlier diagnosis of disease, cannot be overestimated. The difference in outcome between women who have access to health care and those who do not underscores the need for preventive care. According to the 2003 Wo»aen's Health Repo~•t Cap°d, issued by the NC Program for Women's Health Research, a collaborative program of The School of Medicine, The School of Public Health, and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and the University of NC at Chapel Hill, while Caucasian women have a higher incidence of breast cancer, minority women have a much higher death rate from breast cancer. Earlier diagnosis through mammograms often plays a critical role in preventing death. The disparity in health care access has devastating results on a statewide basis. According to the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, NC has the sixth highest rate of infant mortality in the nation. Almost 24 percent of African American women attend late or no prenatal care. The "2003 NC Women's Health Report Card" states that the rate of infant mortality for African Americans in NC is more than double that for white North Carolinians. Accessible family planning services help to reduce the rate of infant and maternal mortality by helping women space pregnancies so that their bodies are better prepared for pregnancy and childbirth. For many women, reproductive health care is primary health care. Family plamiing services provide not only contraception but also cancer screening, disease prevention, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and other public health services. Unfortunately, despite gains in greater access to family planning services through county health departments, far too many women remain in need of this basic care. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, roughly one-half of the women in NC who are in need of contraceptive services and supplies are in need of publicly supported services because they can not otherwise afford this preventive care. Each year, family planning clinics in NC serve almost 200,000 women, including over 50,000 teenagers. County health departments serve seventy-six percent of the women served by publicly supported family planning clinics in NC. Studies conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute show that every dollar spent on family planning services saves three dollars in spending on public assistance. Women who have fewer resources also have fewer reproductive choices. The state of NC once recognized that a woman's right to make responsible decisions regarding childbearing should not be based solely on her ability to pay for full reproductive freedom. The State Abortion Fund was established in NC immediately following the passage of the federal Hyde Amendment in 1976, which barred the use of federal Medicaid money to pay for abortions in most cases. Initially, the State Abortion Fund was accessible to women based on financial need alone. In 1995, the fund was decimated. The funding was reduced from over one million dollars to just $50,000 and restrictions were placed on it that rendered it almost entirely inaccessible. While fair-minded people may hold different opinions on abortion, the right of a woman to make personal decisions about when or whether she will become a parent for the first or fourth time should not be based solely on her ability to pay for that freedom. According to the 2003 Women Health Repo°t Ca~~d, the rate of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, has increased among all racial groups. In fact, heterosexual women, especially young women of color, are the fastest growing population infected with HIV. The bottom line is that too many women in NC are in jeopardy of poor health outcomes simply because they do not have access to preventive and reliable health care. 2006-2007 Women's DraftAgenda 3