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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, gave the following opening statement this morning at a hearing on H.R. 3014, the Health Equity & Accountability Act of 2007.
"Good morning. Today the Subcommittee is meeting to review HR 3014, the 'Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007,' introduced by my colleague, Ms. Solis. I would like to thank you for all your work on this legislation. I would also like to highlight the efforts of the TriCaucus Members and thank all of them for their tireless work on this legislation. This hearing is long overdue and I am pleased that we have the opportunity today to address this very important topic.
"Though we as a nation have made tremendous strides in improving the health of all Americans, there remain significant inequalities with respect to both access to health care and the quality of care provided among different ethnic groups in this country. As numerous reports have been published highlighting these gaps in our health care system, it is clear that action must be taken to address these inequalities.
"For example, the mortality rate due to heart disease is highest among African Americans; cancer deaths are increasing at a faster rate among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders than any other racial or ethnic groups; and the rate of new AIDS cases is three times higher among Hispanics than among Caucasians.
"I, personally, am also very concerned about the health disparities for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The mortality rate among Indian infants is 150 percent higher than for Caucasian infants, and Indians are nearly three times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes. Depression is rampant and suicide is two and a half times higher in this population than the national average -- in fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Indian youth.
"These disparities are not limited, however, to ethnic and racial divides, but are consistently also found between genders, geographic area, and among differing income groups. The National Center for Health Statistic’s recent report highlights the longer life expectancy for women than for men. There are significantly more access-to-care obstacles for rural populations than there are for urban populations, and the 2002 Institute of Medicine report found that these disparities persisted even when factors such as insurance coverage and income level remained constant. Clearly, these disparities in health services and care are an all encompassing challenge that must be addressed.
"Recently, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – the largest health care foundation in the country – announced a $300 million dollar commitment to close the gap in health care disparities across ethnic, religious, and geographic lines. This project will seek to answer crucial questions through data collection in an attempt to better understand the causes of regional health variations. Part of the funds will also be used to pay for national experts who will help grantees tailor their quality improvement plans to their specific communities. Ultimately, this research will work to reduce disparities and provide the groundwork for national health reform models.
"While the work of this and other philanthropic organizations are vital in our efforts to close the health disparities gap, more can be done on a federal level as well. With legislation such as the bill we are hearing about today, we can gather more information to develop a multi-faceted approach that will one day eliminate disparities in health.
"The 'Health Equity and Accountability Act' targets the underlying causes of the current health disparity crisis, including racial, ethnic, gender, and rural disparities. The bill would strengthen educational institutions and reinforce efforts to ensure culturally sensitive health care, such as overcoming language barriers. It would support programs to address the shortage of health care providers focusing specifically on those that address minority health care providers. Finally, it would establish community-centric initiatives to improve health care services and eliminate health disparities among legal citizens.
"I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a point I know some in this room will try to raise. The intent of this legislation is to close the health gap for individuals who are legally present in this country. We actually used many of these provisions in the CHAMP bill. During our work on the CHAMP Act, it came to our attention that we needed to clarify these provisions and we made the necessary changes at that time.
"The bill before us has not yet been clarified, but I do want to point out again, the provision in question is not intended to cover illegal immigrants, but rather to provide legal pregnant women and children access to health care.
"It is my hope that the conversation this morning will focus on the goals of this bill, which are to eliminate the underlying causes of health care disparities. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the isle would respect that rather than turning this health disparities hearing into a heated battle on immigration issues.
"I would like to thank the witnesses for appearing before us today to share their expertise. I look forward to your testimony and your insight on how this legislation would address some of the very prevalent health care disparities problems this country faces today.
"I would especially like to welcome Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is located in my district. Thank you for coming down from my home state of New Jersey to testify. And Majority Whip Clyburn and Congressman Moran, it is a pleasure to have you both join us as well. I now recognize my colleague from Georgia, Mr. Deal, for five minutes for his opening statement."
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