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 HALLI
CASSER-JAYNE -
bio
WHY ELIZABETH EDWARDS SHOULD
SUPPORT
HILLARY CLINTON
Posted, December 3,
2007, 12:01 am est
 
 
In
this era of generic reporting by the traditional news media and punditry, where
journalists are long on spewing opinion and short on reporting facts, it
would behoove the women of America to start reading the fine print.
It's in the
fine print where Elizabeth Edwards, and all women, would discover a
strong reason to consider throwing their support to Hillary Clinton.
Mrs. Edwards, who is in the battle of her life with cancer, might be the first to benefit from a
woman sitting in the Oval Office.
This is not about the
issue of healthcare reform, which is more a debate about the
reorganization of services in order to bring costs under control and make
healthcare available and affordable to everyone.
Instead, it is about the unspeakable fact that women as a gender are not
treated equally by the healthcare system in comparison to men, and this
applies to both access to healthcare and quality of healthcare.
And in spite of significant gains in the past decade, women continue to be
less studied as medical research subjects.
Here are just ten of
the inequities according to The Office On Women's Health in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (1) women have worse outcomes after strokes, (2) most
prescription drugs are not tested on women (3) women receive less
healthcare counseling (4) women receive fewer high technology treatments
(5) women receive worse cardiology care (6) women are less likely to get a
flu shot (7) women receive worse diabetes care (8) women have a harder
time receiving basic care (9) women receive less-aggressive HIV care (10)
there is a huge difference between men and women in diagnosis and referral
rates of similar conditions.
The good news is that
women receive better care for depression, thanks to Dr. Freud.
By race, not surprisingly, the statistics are even more
devastating. Compared to Caucasian women, African-American women,
Hispanic
women, Asian women and Native American women remain critically
disadvantaged when compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Issues
include provision of screening, how aggressive treatment is and as a
result, a patient’s overall outcome. Even with insurance plans, minorities
fare less well to Caucasian women. For instance, Hispanic and Native
American women are less likely to receive mammograms.
It goes without saying
that socio-economic status plays an important role on the quality of care
available to women. There are some studies that show that poorer rural
women have less access to health care. And since women statistically earn
lower wages than their male counterparts they cannot equally afford
healthcare.
In this age of
multi-functioning women a lack of time appears to be another factor in the
diminished quality of healthcare for women. Similarly, due to care-giving
responsibilities, where 9% of women as compared to 4% of men are tending
to aging parents, it is less-likely that a woman will take care of
herself.
Although women live
longer (and this statistic shows the gap between lifespan between men and
women is narrowing), they do not necessarily live better.
Men, on the other
hand, appear to have better long-term survival rates than women.
Is it fair to say that
a woman seated in the White House would make a difference to the issue of women’s
healthcare in America?
Well, as my doctor used to say, it won’t hurt.
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headlines:
Clinton Attack on Obama Healthcare Plan Overlooks Realities
NY TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05
/us/politics/05truth.html?ref=politics
Dems Health Care Packages Similar
CBS NEwS
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/04/
politics/main3574031
.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_3574031
Edwards Ad Attacks Drug Co.s, Lobbyists
NY TIMES
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/
edwards-ad-attacks-drug-companies-lobbyists/
Dems Fight Over Universal Healthcare
newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld
/ny-uscamp025485146dec02,0,3614902.story
Clinton Bashes Obama
on
Healthcare
reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2007/11/30/
clinton-bashes-obama-universal-health-care-
plan/
An Attack, From the Candidate’s Mouth
New York
Times
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/
an-attack-from-the-candidates-mouth
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