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Women's Health: From Moms to Medicare
This edition of LegNet focuses on health issues that are important to clubwomen of all ages. According to the Kiplinger Business Report, health care premiums will increase by eight percent in 2009, surpassing the U.S. inflation rate by a wide margin, so the concerns over health care and insurance coverage are more relevant that ever.
In May 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever vaccine for adult shingles. More than 47 million Americans are at risk of developing shingles, and the new vaccine has been proven to prevent roughly half of all outbreaks. However, the price of the vaccine is more than $150, making it out of reach for many older Americans who live on fixed incomes and are at greatest risk of developing the disease.
There is a bill in the U.S House of Representatives that would make the vaccine much more affordable for the average American: H.R. 5877, The Shingles Prevention Act. The bill is sponsored by Congresswoman Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and currently has 35 co-sponsors. Call your Congressional Representative and ask that they co-sponsor H.R. 5877. To locate the number of your Representative please visit www.House.gov or call the House of Representatives switchboard at 202/224-3121 to be connected directly to their office.
According to Congresswoman Hirono’s office, the Shingles Prevention Act will save almost half a billion dollars in treatment costs making this an extraordinarily cost effective piece of legislation.
Facts About Shingles
Signs/Symptoms/Complications of Shingles
In partnership with the American Pain Foundation, GFWC provides a free informational kit about Shingles to members who are interested in learning more or providing additional education and materials to their clubs. To receive your free kit please contact GFWC Program Assistant Kari O’Donnel by e-mail or call 202-347-3168 ext 134.
WOMEN, AGING & HEALTH CARE
As women age, their insurance needs increase, and the likelihood of coverage decreases. At retirement women tend to have lower Social Security and pension benefits than men primarily because they had lower average earnings during their work years or left the workforce for periods of time to raise children or care for aging family members. Uninsured or underinsured women lack adequate access to care and have poorer health outcomes than insured women. They are more likely to postpone care, avoid or delay filling prescriptions, and delay or go without important preventive care.
Medicare is a federal government program that provides health insurance to people over 65, and includes three different parts:
As a way for those with Medicare to cover prescription drug costs, many consumers look towards private supplemental insurance. However, access to these beneficial plans is decreasing, on top of a decline in the scope of existing drug coverage. Currently, six percent of women have individually-purchased insurance coverage, but often encounter high deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs.
Employee-sponsored plans or retiree health plans assist fewer than 40 percent of women on Medicare and have steadily been eroding due to increasing employer health costs.
You can compare private insurance plans for women of all ages online, where you can enter basic demographic information and receive a quote from multiple health insurance companies.
During the 2008 Presidential campaign season, parties’ candidates have spoken extensively about their plans to reform healthcare for all Americans and have dedicated portions of their websites to explain these plans. As you are examining the candidates, their records, and stances on the issues in preparation for the November election, please visit their respective websites:
Sen. John McCain's position on healthcare issues including medicare
Sen. Barack Obama's positions on healthcare issues and medicare
POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION
Postpartum depression affects as many as 10 percent of all new mothers, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the symptoms, including irritability, loss of appetite and overwhelming fatigue, may last for many months after giving birth. It is an illness experienced by clubwoman Allison Yezek of the GFWC Junior Woman’s Club of Charlotte, N.C., after the birth of her first child. Allison talks about her experience with postpartum depression and her passion for helping other women who suffer from it on her My Volunteer Year blog.
Allison spent many months working on a bill before the U.S. Congress, H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act. Melanie Blocker-Stokes was an Illinois woman who committed suicide after suffering from postpartum depression. This bill would have increased research for postpartum depression and offered grants for essential medical care to those who suffer from the illness and their families. Melanie’s family believes she did not receive the appropriate care and attention for this volatile and often understood disease and would have been greatly helped by many of its key provisions. The bill had the potential to save countless lives like Melanie’s and was part of a package of bills known as the Advancing America’s Priorities Act, which did not pass in the Senate.
At the 2008 GFWC Annual International Convention in Chicago, Resolution 013-440 Reproductive Health Care was amended to support research and legislation related to postpartum depression. Beginning in January 2009, the GFWC Public Policy Department will begin advocating on this issue on behalf of clubwomen. Look for updates and calls to action on this very serious topic and learn more about how you can support Allison Yezek on her blog.
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