Cervical cancer support group

January 4, 2001

Thank you very much. Well, first, I think we all should thank Tonia again for coming all the way from Oklahoma, where it's been hazardous even to drive around, if you've been seeing--[laughter]. Oklahoma and my native State of Arkansas have been one big icicle for the last several days. And she came all the way up here to try to make sure that no other woman ever has to go through what she has, and I think she did a terrific job.

I'd also like to thank Senator Clinton--God, what a kick--[laughter]--this is the first time I've been able to say that; I'm still getting used to saying that; I kind of like it, you know--who has been such a vital part of all the progress we've made in women and children's health here in the United States and throughout the world and who will continue to lead on these issues in the United States Senate.

I thank, as Hillary did, Secretary Shalala for all she has done, right up until the 11th hour. Just a few days ago, we were announcing our medical privacy regulations, which I think are profoundly important, and I thank her.

And as Hillary said, Janice Lachance, at the Office of Personnel Management, has kept us on the forefront of employers, in setting a good example. And she, in the 11th hour--even later--announced that we were going to have parity for mental health, something that Tipper Gore has worked so hard for and something that you have made real for the Federal employees and their families. And I thank you for that.

I'd also like to thank someone who never gets mentioned, but has literally done virtually--is responsible for virtually everything I have done on health care for 8 years, Mr. Chris Jennings. Thank you, Chris, wherever you may be. Thank you.

I, too, want to thank our friends Anna Eshoo, Louise Slaughter, Sherrod Brown, Rosa DeLauro for joining us today, and for all those who worked with them on this important legislation and for all the things that they have tried to do. Hillary mentioned the genetic discrimination law. I think that's very important. And there's lots of interests arrayed against Louise and the others who are trying to pass this bill. And I won't be around to help you, but we've got a better distribution in the Congress for people who would like to pass that. And I'll say more about this at the end of my remarks.

But as I imagine, what we want people to find out about themselves and their conditions and what we can do to lengthen life and improve the quality of life, it's only going to work if we have some protection against discrimination. When you find out something that you really need to know but somebody will use against you, you wind up having more people in the same shape Tonia was in, if we permit genetic discrimination. Instead of lengthening life, we're going to cut short work lives and a lot of other problems if we don't pass it. So I urge you all to please hang in there with this vast group and try to pass a bill against genetic discrimination so that we can move on to the next chapter of this grand struggle.

Now, mostly what we're here to do today is to mark the progress that we've made in women's and children's health--thanks to the dramatic increase in funding for research and the provision of more health care options for women and children; thanks to your stand against discrimination and violence directed at women and for a woman's right to choose. So many of you, advocates for women and children, women's health, breast and cervical cancer groups, have never stopped fighting since--certainly since the day I got here. [Laughter] I thought I had a lot of energy until I met all of you. [Laughter] And you have, on occasion, worn me out. [Laughter]

But in the bill we come to particularly talk about today, you have proved once again that when Americans put the people of this country first, when they look at the human dimensions of a challenge, there are literally no limits to what we can achieve together. And so again, I want to thank all of you for what you've done and what we'll go on to do.

With regard to breast and cervical cancer, I just wanted to reemphasize that we know what works: early detection, prompt treatment, and a commitment to research until a cure is found. And we have to stay on all three approaches.

More than 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer this year in the United States. Too many Americans still will lose a sister, a daughter, a friend, or a mother. And too many women will he unable to pay for health care that will dramatically improve or even save their lives.

Everybody who knows anything about this disease knows this delay can be fatal, literally. And still, too many uninsured women face a curious patchwork of care or inadequate care or no care at all. We know that women who are uninsured--listen to this--are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than women with insurance. I know the worst licking I took in the last 8 years was when I tried to provide health insurance to everybody. But when I hear a statistic like that, I still think we need to keep going until everybody's got health insurance.

Now, there's more than one way to do it. The Children's Health Insurance Program-- when we tried in '94, the budget was in deficit and the economy was still not fully recovered. We could neither raise the money nor require employers to come up with it. That's fundamentally what happened. We didn't have the economic circumstances to create a comprehensive network. But the Children's Health Insurance Program, alone, as it's being implemented, has led us to the first reduction in the number of people without health insurance in a dozen years, and that's good.

Now, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, which built on the previous work we did to provide preventive screenings under Medicare and to include more women in clinical trials, both of which were also quite important for the long run issues--this allows States to extend full Medicaid benefits to women who are diagnosed with these cancers but don't have insurance. Every year it will help to get prompt and quality care to thousands who might otherwise not receive care or be bankrupted by the cost of it.

Today we're taking two new steps to help bring down these barriers earlier. First, we are releasing new guidelines for States to explain their options under the Breast and Cervical Treatment Act. I don't want to have the same kind of take-up time with this we had with the Children's Health Insurance Program. We need to move on this in a hurry, and you can help with that.

These guidelines will explain how to get Federal matching dollars to fund care, When women are diagnosed with cancer through federally funded screening programs, States may now enroll them in Medicaid right away. Doctors and hospitals may start providing care immediately, even before the paperwork is processed. It's very important. And we hope that these guidelines will free more State funds for breast cancer screening. If all this happens and it happens in a hurry, we will save a lot of lives every year.

Second, because we want the Federal Government to be a model employer, I'm directing every agency to help every employee have the time to get checked for cancer and other preventable diseases every year. This is an important step for everyone and particularly for women. To take just one example, for women ages 50 to 69, regular mammograms reduce the risk of death by breast cancer by 30 percent. From now on, every one of our 1.8 million Federal employees who need it will have up to 4 hours of leave available every year for preventive screenings. I hope this will spur other employers to take similar actions.

With these steps, as well as the Children's Health Act of 2000 that Hillary mentioned, we've built a strong foundation of research and treatment for those who suffer today, and we've done what we could to ensure that cancer and other diseases will claim fewer victims tomorrow.

But before I close, I just want to remind you, there's a lot of work ahead--a lot. And all the best stuff is still out there. We have to build on what we have accomplished, and we should not retreat from the advances we've made in reproductive health and family planning. We want to see healthy mothers and healthy fathers raising healthy children in the United States and all across the world.

We have to recognize that we have a unique situation today where we've gone from record deficits to record surpluses, where we can actually invest in health care and education and the other things we need to invest in, have an affordable tax cut, and continue to pay down the debt to keep interest rates low.