THE ISSUES

HEALTH CARE

Senator Boxer is committed to making quality health care more accessible and affordable for Californians. She has been a strong advocate for legislation that ensures that the medical needs of patients are the top priority of health care providers. In order to make sure that patients continue to benefit from lifesaving research and treatments, Senator Boxer was a strong supporter of the effort that achieved a doubling of funding for basic health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• In 1997, Senator Boxer introduced one of the very first patients’ bill of rights when she authored the Health Insurance Consumers’ Bill of Rights Act. Her 1997 bill would have allowed patients to choose their own doctor, rather than have one assigned by their HMO; pay for emergency care even if the patient did not get permission in advance; ensure treatment by specialists by allowing patients who have been denied care to appeal that decision to a neutral third party; and allow patients to sue their managed-care providers for harmful and destructive decisions made regarding their medical care. In 2004, Boxer introduced similar legislation to protect patients from the egregious practices of HMOs.
• In 2003, Senator Boxer introduced legislation to provide a 50 percent tax credit to small businesses for employer-sponsored health care coverage in states where such coverage is mandated.
• Senator Boxer has introduced the Health Insurance Tax Relief Act to allow individuals and families to take a tax deduction of up to $2,000. per year for the cost of health insurance premiums. Senator Boxer authored legislation to give Americans access to the same health insurance program as members of Congress.
• Senator Boxer is one of the Senate's leading advocates for health research. She cosponsored The National Research Investment Act of 1998 and supported subsequent appropriations that led to the doubling of funding for the NIH. Boxer is one of the nation's most outspoken advocates of research and treatment for diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and scleroderma.
• Senator Boxer authored an amendment to the 1996 Kennedy-Kassebaum Health Care bill to target "gag rules" under which HMOs prevent doctors from advising their patients of the full range of treatment options for their health conditions.
• Senator Boxer wrote the Women's Access to Care Act in 1999, to allow women in HMOs to choose an obstetrician or gynecologist as their primary care physician.
• Senator Boxer has been a leading voice in the fight to focus national attention on the increasing problem of prostate cancer and the desperate need for federal research funds to better understand this disease. She also sponsored community meetings in California with doctors and health experts to provide information to the public.
• Senator Boxer is a leader in the fight to ensure the privacy of medical records. She has spoken out against Administration attempts to rollback rules designed to protect medical records and authored an amendment to protect the privacy of medical records held by the Department of Defense.
• Senator Boxer has fought to increase federal funding for breast cancer research and other neglected areas of women’s health research, including osteoporosis. She was also instrumental in pushing the National Cancer Institute to reconsider and strengthen its mammography guidelines for women in their 40s.
• In 2002, Senator Boxer called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an independent study of breast cancer rates within Marin County. Boxer made this request in light of a study by the Northern California Cancer Center, which found that breast cancer rates in the area had increased by 60 percent between 1991 and 1999, compared to increases of less than 5 percent in other areas. In 2005, Senator Boxer secured $400,000 for the county to continue to monitor the high breast cancer rate.
• Senator Boxer has been a longtime supporter of HIV/AIDS prevention, education, research, and treatment. She is also a leader in the fight to increase funding for International HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis relief. Senator Boxer is a vocal supporter of the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides the largest federal investment in community-based HIV/AIDS health care services.
• In October 2002, Senator Boxer urged the Bush Administration to take specific steps to address the causes of the alarming increase in autism cases in California. She wrote HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to establish a common national standard for the diagnosis of autism; instruct the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to convene a task force to review the current literature on autism and conduct its own study if necessary; and direct the NIH and CDC to work with the states to create a national chronic disease database.
• Senator Boxer authored the Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act, which increased funding for and coordinated activities of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute with respect to heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases in women. It became law in 1998.
• In 1995, Senator Boxer authored an amendment that passed by a vote of 99-0 to move forward with important pending regulations on mammography standards.
• Senator Boxer was a cosponsor of the Women's Health Equity Act, which sought to promote greater equity in women's health care through expanded research and improved access to health care services.
• Senator Boxer cosponsored the Newborn and Mothers Health Protection Act, which became law and guarantees newborn infants and their mothers 48 hours of hospital care after birth.
• Senator Boxer was an early cosponsor and avid supporter of the Family and Medical Leave Law, which allows Americans to take time off from their jobs to care for an ailing family member, including spouses, parents and children. She is a cosponsor of legislation to expand Family and Medical Leave.
• In 2004, Senator Boxer was the cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would provide seven days of paid sick leave for workers to meet the medical needs of family members.
• Senator Boxer has been a strong advocate for caregivers who provide uncompensated care for family and friends. She has cosponsored legislation to increase support for family caregivers, including the Respite Care Act -- passed by the Senate in 2003 -- which would provide additional funds for respite care programs.
• In 2002, Senator Boxer introduced the Women's Autoimmune Diseases Research and Prevention Act to expand the federal government's health research efforts on autoimmune diseases in women and to provide information and education to women and health care providers on these diseases. Autoimmune diseases comprise more than 80 different chronic illnesses. Seventy-five percent of them occur in women.