Senator Gillibrand Speaks Out about Senator Kyl's remarks

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who has a strong record of working to improve health care access coverage for all Americans, today issued a statement in response to Senator Kyl's (R-AZ) objection to covering maternity care:

I was very disturbed at Senator Kyl's remark that insurance companies should not be required to offer maternity care. Proper maternity care should be a basic right that every woman has affordable access to. Since he doesn't need maternity care, he does not understand its importance.

When I gave birth to my children, I was fortunate to have the coverage I needed. But it's becoming more and more difficult for millions of women around the country to gain access to basic maternity care.

I'm pleased that the Senate Finance Committee defeated the Kyl amendment, which would have stripped the ability of the federal government to define which benefits are covered in a standard private insurance package.

I'd prefer that we didn't need to force private insurers to do the right thing but the fact that only 60% of private insurance plans in the individual insurance market cover maternity care highlights the need for health insurance reform.

Kyl's amendment, based on the concept that federal minimum standards for health care coverage impeded insurance companies' right of free speech, was designed to prohibit bare minimums for benefits packages. According to Igor Volsky:

Kyl’s amendment would prohibit the government from defining which benefits should be included in a standard benefit package and would permit health insurance companies to design policies that exclude higher-cost beneficiaries. Currently, “it is difficult and costly for women to find health insurance that covers maternity care” in the individual health insurance market. According to a survey conducted by the National Women’s Law Center, the vast majority of individual market health insurance policies “do not cover maternity care at all. A limited number of insurers sell separate maternity coverage for an additional fee known as a ‘rider,’ but this supplemental coverage is often expensive and limited in scope.”

A well defined minimum benefits package would compel health insurers to provide basic services to all Americans.

The Kyl Amendment was defeated nine to 14.

By creating minimum acceptable inclusions for benefits packages, health care reform would create a better safety net and protect more Americans from bankruptcy or financial distress due to health care needs. It would also enable more people better access to health care, including better wellness care -- for example, maternity care -- which is more cos teffective.

Senator Gillibrand has been lending her voice and support for this type of health care reform. In April, at a Health Care For America Now (HCAN!) event, the Senator

vocalized her support for a public insurance plan option and stated that an affordable, comprehensive benefit package is essential to any reform measure.  The Senator strongly supported the need for affordability-stating no family should have to pay more than 5% of their income to get health insurance.

The Senator also highlighted the need for the Senate to utilize the reconciliation process to pass health care reform and affirmed that health care reform is essential to America’s economic recovery.

More recently, she hosted a 'Momversation' about health care reform. You can read more about Senator Gillibrand and health care reform at her Web site.

Comments

[Kathryn]

Julie, thanks for this post. I am going to try this weekend to find time to draft a letter to Senator Kyl, because I find his position misogynistic and I think it's important to express our displeasure with that. I hope others will, too.

[magpie]

Glad to see this, not least of which is because Gillibrand is one of my senators, and she is really growing on me.