Report Gives Nation Poor Grade for Women's Health

Back to Research Articles

A report on women's health released this week gives the nation an overall grade of "unsatisfactory" and critically examines the states' and the nation's policies on women's health. The report was released by the National Women's Law Center, FOCUS/University of Pennsylvania, and the Lewin Group. The report gives state-by-state rankings of "satisfactory," "unsatisfactory," and "failing" and notes that not a single state earned the grade of "satisfactory." The report illustrates variations among states. For instance, in Hawaii 7.5% of women are uninsured, compared to 28% of women in Texas. All 50 states and the District of Columbia met only one benchmark--the percentage of women ages 50 and over who receive mammograms. Hawaii ranked first overall in women's health.

The report states that too many women lack health insurance coverage and that not enough has been done to address women's lack of access to care. It also notes that the states and the nation have focused too little attention on preventive measures like smoking cessation, nutrition, and physical activity. Only one state (New Jersey) requires students in grades 9 to 12 to take 4 years of physical education, and no state requires private insurers to fully cover smoking-cessation programs. Furthermore, fewer than half the states require private insurers to cover Pap smears and cervical cancer screening, and only three states require insurance companies to cover screening for chlamydia.

The report also criticizes the states and the nation for not paying enough attention to reproductive health, mental health, or violence against women. It states that

• Almost half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended;
• Only four states require insurance companies to cover mental health disorders and physical disorders equally; and
• Only four states require training, screening, and health care protocols related to domestic violence and sexual assault, and only four states prohibit insurance discrimination against victims of domestic violence.

The report concludes that the nation needs more women's health research, better data collection and data systems, and more attention to emerging issues affecting women's health and well-being.

America's health policies are failing women, finds most comprehensive women's health study ever. 2000, August 22. News release available at www.nwlc.org/details.cfm?id=441§ion=health.

National Women's Law Center, FOCUS/University of Pennsylvania, The Lewin Group. 2000. Making the grade on women's health. A national and state-by-state report card. Executive summary. The report can be downloaded from www.nwlc.org/pdf/Ex._Summary.pdf8.19.pdf.

To subscribe to the MCH Alert, send an email message to MCHALERT@LIST.NCEMCH.ORG, with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. You do not need to enter any text in the body of the message.

MCH Alert. 2001. Arlington, VA: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. http://www.ncemch.org/alert.