*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1994.05.01: Women's Health:  A Key Administration
 Priority

Date: May 1994
Contact:  PHS Press Office(202)690-6867
		Office on Women's Health (202) 690-7650   

                                             Women's Health:  A Key Administration
 Priority

The Clinton administration is committed to a comprehensive, equality-minded approach to
women's health.

  *	Women's health concerns are at the center of the comprehensive benefits package
 included in the Health Security Act.  The health care reform proposal would
 provide coverage, including free preventive services, for all women.  It would
 improve coverage for children.  And it would include new support for home and
community-based long term care, of special importance to women who are often
care-givers for elderly and disabled persons.

  *	The administration has created a new senior level health position, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Women's Health, to address inequities in the health
treatment of American women.  Special offices of women's health are also being
created in many of the individual Public Health Service agencies.

  *	The National Action Plan on Breast Cancer provides an unprecedented
opportunity to promote public-private linkages and to improve research on one of
the most serious threats to the health of women.

  *	The administration was instrumental in making the drug RU-486 available for
testing in the United States.  RU-486 is already available for non-surgical
termination of pregnancies in several European countries.  In his first days in
office, President Clinton also ended the "gag" rule on family planning clinics.

  *	The administration's FY 1995 budget request for the Public Health Service
includes $1.9 billion for programs directly targeting the health of women.  This is
an increase of $154 million (9 percent) over FY 1994 funding, and $332 million
(22 percent) over FY 1993.

BACKGROUND:

	   Women are less likely than men to have employer-based health coverage, and
less likely to receive necessary care throughout the year, yet they typically pay
more out-of-pocket for health care than do men.

	   In the past, women's health concerns have not been adequately addressed in
the nation's medical research agenda.  Research on diseases which impact women
has been historically underfunded, and women have been under-represented in
clinical trials.

 	   Violence against women, including both physical and sexual assault, is an
urgent public health problem in the United States.  Some 20 to 30 percent of
women treated in emergency rooms are there because of domestic violence.

INITIATIVES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

*	Health Care Reform:  The president's Health Security Act provides comprehensive
preventive and medical services to every woman across her life span regardless of
employment, marital or health status.  The act would:

	 --	Eliminate discriminatory exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions, and
eliminate lifetime benefit caps.

	 --	Guarantee comprehensive preventive services, generally without cost-
sharing, including periodic health examinations, screening mammograms,
pap smears, cholesterol checks and immunizations.

	 --	Guarantee coverage for reproductive and family planning services.

	 --	Provide for new home and community-based long term care services.

	 --	Provide for increased research on women's health issues.

*	Women's Health Focus:  The United States has set an important precedent by
establishing a senior level health position dedicated to redressing inequities in the                  
health care system.  Dr. Susan J. Blumenthal, a national leader and expert in 
women's health, has been appointed the first deputy assistant secretary for  
women's health within the Department of Health and Human Services.  As head of
the new Office on Women's Health, Dr. Blumenthal provides the leadership, 
direction and support for a comprehensive women's health agenda, and
coordinates women's health policies and programs across agencies and offices of 
the Public Health Service.

	 --	All PHS agencies with a focus on research have established policies to 
ensure that women are included in HHS-sponsored clinical research
programs.

	 --	The NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, whose mission is to
strengthen research on women's health issues, was authorized by law in
1993.  The 1995 budget request for the office is $16.7 million, a 48 percent
increase over the
 previous year.

	 --	The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has established
an Office for Women's Services, which ensures that the substance abuse and
mental health needs and services of women are appropriately addressed.  A
National Resource Center for Women also provides information and referral
services on substance abuse.

	--	The CDC and the FDA are both establishing offices of women's health.  In 1993,
the FDA revised its 1977 guidelines to include women in early phase drug testing.

*	National Action Plan on Breast Cancer:  HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala convened a
national conference on breast cancer in December 1993 to develop a comprehensive plan
for research, health care and policy issues pertaining to the eradication of breast cancer. 
The outcome of this conference, the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, affirms the
importance of public-private collaborations to fight breast cancer and promote breast
health.  Implementing the plan will be coordinated by the PHS Office on Women's Health. 
It will involve the participation of consumer, health care professional and scientific
organizations, as well as the federal government.

*	Making mifepristone available for U.S. testing:  In his first week in office, President
Clinton signed a memorandum directing HHS to assess initiatives to promote the testing
and licensing of mifepristone (RU-486) in the U.S.  RU-486 is already available for non-surgical termination of pregnancies in France, the United Kingdom and Sweden.  In May
1994, Secretary Shalala announced that the French pharmaceutical company Roussel
Uclaf would donate its U.S. patent rights for RU-486 to the Population Council, Inc., to
sponsor necessary American testing of the drug and to work with a drug manufacturer to
bring RU-486 to the American market.  The agreement was reached following
negotiations and repeated urging by the Clinton administration.

*	Eliminating the "gag rule":  Also in the first week of his administration, President
Clinton issued an Executive Order lifting the ban on abortion counseling by Title X (family
planning) program grantees.  The action assured that full information on family planning
alternatives would be available to clients of Title X-supported clinics.

*	Confronting violence against women:  The Administration worked to ensure that
provisions on violence against women were included in the crime bill which was before
Congress this year.  In addition, CDC has launched an initiative on prevention of domestic
violence.

*	The NIH Women's Health Initiative:  This initiative, the largest clinical research study
ever conducted in either men or women, has begun to examine the major causes of death,
disability and frailty in post-menopausal women:  heart disease, breast and colon cancer
and osteoporosis.  This multi-year study will examine the effect of dietary patterns and
supplements, exercise, hormone replacement therapy, and behavioral interventions to
prevent major disorders and promote good health for women.

*	Minority Women's Health:  HHS cosponsored the first National Minority
Women's Conference on the Status of Health in April 1994 and convened a
National American Indian and Alaskan Native Conference on the Status of
Women's Health for May *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1994.

*	Women's Health Budget:  The President's FY 1995 budget request for the U.S. Public
Health Service sets aside $1.9 billion for women's health.  This includes increases for:

	 --	Breast cancer research ($387 million, an increase of $86 million, or 29
percent over FY 1994).  This includes $10 million for the National Action
Plan on Breast Cancer.

	 --	The Family Planning Program, providing contraceptive and pregnancy services and
routine gynecological screening to low-income women ($199 million, an increase
of $18 million, or 10 percent).

	 --	Research on osteoporosis ($85 million, a 4 percent increase).

	 --	Research on lupus ($23.6 million, a 4 percent increase).

	 --	Research on female-controlled chemical barriers against HIV infection and other
sexually transmitted diseases  ($25 million, an increase of $13 million or 200
percent over FY 1994).

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