1-1     By:  Delisi (Senate Sponsor - Nelson)                H.C.R. No. 235
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
 1-3     May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
 1-4     and Human Services; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The State of Texas recognizes that there are serious
 1-8     inequities in the health prevention and treatment of women and
 1-9     fully supports all efforts to improve the health status of women in
1-10     this state; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Women are metabolically, hormonally, and
1-12     physiologically different from men, have different patterns of
1-13     health, and suffer from certain diseases at higher rates than men;
1-14     and
1-15           WHEREAS, More than one in five women have some form of
1-16     cardiovascular disease, and one in two women will have an
1-17     osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime; and
1-18           WHEREAS, Women are three times more likely to develop
1-19     rheumatoid arthritis and two to three times more likely to suffer
1-20     from depression; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Women are less often referred for diagnostic tests
1-22     and less often treated for heart disease compared to men; and
1-23           WHEREAS, Women who smoke are 20 to 70 percent more likely to
1-24     develop lung cancer and 10 times more likely than men to contract
1-25     HIV during unprotected sex; and
1-26           WHEREAS, Women outnumber men three to one in long-term care
1-27     facilities, are more likely to provide health care to family
1-28     members and make health care decisions, and spend two of every
1-29     three health care dollars; and
1-30           WHEREAS, There is abundant evidence that women are
1-31     undertreated compared to men and underrepresented in health
1-32     research; and
1-33           WHEREAS, There has been some national attention on women's
1-34     health care issues and some legislative activity by the U.S.
1-35     Congress on access issues, but there has been little change in
1-36     vitally important preventive care and treatment issues; and
1-37           WHEREAS, In a recent survey of voters, almost 80 percent of
1-38     women and 60 percent of men favored a women's health care platform
1-39     that supports appropriate care and relevant research and education
1-40     for women; and
1-41           WHEREAS, Nine out of ten people agree that women have the
1-42     right to access quality treatment and the latest technologies and
1-43     appropriate diagnostic tests; and
1-44           WHEREAS, The State of Texas supports equal access to quality
1-45     health care for women, as set out in the women's health platform of
1-46     the Women in Government organization, including efforts to:
1-47           *  Provide women equal access to quality health care,
1-48              including state-of-the-art medical advances and
1-49              technology;
1-50           *  Increase the number of women covered by comprehensive
1-51              health insurance, including primary and preventive health
1-52              care;
1-53           *  Prevent serious health problems by timely diagnosis and
1-54              treatment programs;
1-55           *  Promote strategies to increase patient access to
1-56              recommended diagnostic and screening tests, preventive
1-57              health regimens, and recommended treatments;
1-58           *  Encourage unimpeded access to women's specialty health
1-59              care providers;
1-60           *  Create and promote public/private partnership programs
1-61              designed to improve the scope and quality of women's
1-62              health care;
1-63           *  Improve communications between providers and patients;
1-64           *  Continue to expand participation of women in clinical
 2-1              research trials;
 2-2           *  Increase government and private research on women's health
 2-3              care issues and the differences between men and women and
 2-4              how the differences impact quality health care;
 2-5           *  Conduct more health outcomes research to demonstrate the
 2-6              value of women's health care interventions and preventive
 2-7              health measures in both the long and short term;
 2-8           *  Expand medical and nursing school curricula in the area of
 2-9              women's health and education on gender biology;
2-10           *  Support public education campaigns to increase women's
2-11              awareness about their unique health risks, how to
2-12              negotiate the complexities of today's health care system,
2-13              and how to demand and obtain the best health care
2-14              available;
2-15           *  Conduct public health campaigns via state and local
2-16              departments of public health with private sector partners
2-17              to focus on key issues relating to women's preventive
2-18              health concerns;
2-19           *  Urge the establishment of permanent offices of women's
2-20              health within state government to raise awareness of
2-21              women's special health care needs and advocate initiatives
2-22              to address them;
2-23           *  Foster development and dissemination of publicly available
2-24              information on the quality of health care and health
2-25              outcomes that improves women's ability to choose the best
2-26              women's health care plan; and
2-27           *  Expand state screening programs targeted at lower-income
2-28              women to include a full range of  known risk factors; now,
2-29     therefore, be it
2-30           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-31     hereby encourage every state agency, state chartered institution of
2-32     learning, and any recipient of state grants or funding to take
2-33     appropriate action to achieve improved and equal access for women
2-34     to quality health care; and, be it further
2-35           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-36     hereby commend the Women in Government organization for its
2-37     leadership and dedication in raising awareness of women's health
2-38     issues and advocating improved access to health care for all women.
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