Political Quotes

“I also want to thank Congresswoman Woolsey for her impassioned and principled leadership not only on this issue but so many issues facing Americans. To loosely paraphrase Judy Collins, We have looked at health insurance reform from both sides now--from insurance companies and consumers, from Wall Street and families, from Republicans and Democrats. But there has been something missing from the debate. This evening I would like to ask the question: What's a woman worth? Just how important is it to make sure that quality, affordable health care is affordable to the grandmothers, the mothers, the daughters, and sisters who are responsible for 80 percent of a family's health care decisions; 64 percent of a families' budgets; who represent 79 percent of the health care providers in this country. What is a woman worth? Is a woman worth as much as a man? One would think so, unless, of course, one was considering our current health care system, a system where women pay higher health care costs than men. Now, believe it or not, in 60 percent of the most popular health care plans in this country, a 40-year-old woman who has never smoked will pay more for health insurance than a 40-year-old man who has smoked. A lower percentage of working women receive employer-based health care. It is a system where health situations that affect only women, such as maternity care and mammograms, are less likely to be covered than common male procedures.…”