For Immediate Release: August 27, 2008

Contact: Adrienne Ammerman, National Women’s Law Center, 202-588-5180

MEDIA ALERT

State Women’s Commissions and Councils Key to Improving Women’s Health:

New Mexico Plays Critical Role

(Washington, DC) The status of women’s health in the U.S. is bleak, and women’s commissions and councils, such as New Mexico’s Governor’s Women’s Health Advisory Council, play a critical role in promoting women’s health and advocating for comprehensive health care reform in their states, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reported today.

NWLC’s recent report Reform Matters: A Report on the Health Initiatives of State Women’s Commissions and Council finds that women’s commissions and councils address a broad and diverse cross-section of the health issues affecting women and girls in their communities. 

“The fight for progressive health care reform is currently at crossroads of major consequence at both the state and national levels, and addressing the barriers to women's health care access is more important than ever before,” states Judy Waxman, Vice-President for Health and Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center. “Across the United States, women’s commissions and councils have overcome challenging budget shortfalls to develop creative, effective, and replicable methods to address the diverse health issues confronting women in their states.”

According to NWLC’s Making the Grade: A State-by-State Report Card on Women’s Health, the status of women’s health in New Mexico is dire:

• New Mexico has the second highest rate of uninsurance among women in the country, with 26.7 percent of women uninsured
• The maternal mortality rate is 16.9 per 100,000 women; the third highest maternal mortality rate in the nation.
• More than 30 percent of women in New Mexico do not get first trimester prenatal care, the third worst rate in the country— and 15 percent fewer women receive first trimester care than the national average.
• More than a quarter of women live in a medically underserved area, compared to 11.5 percent nationally

The Governor’s Women’s Health Advisory Council in New Mexico was featured in NWLC’s Report for its innovative accomplishments, such as its creation of the first-ever women’s health policy class at the University of New Mexico, and for its strong collaboration with the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women, whose Executive Director serves on the Council and was instrumental in its establishment.  The Council was also highlighted as an entity committed to advancing progressive health care reform legislation.

“Women’s advocates are well-equipped to join national debates around health care reform,” Waxman concludes. “Together, we will ensure that all health reform proposals address women’s pressing health care needs.” 

NWLC is at the forefront of the fight for progressive health care reform that addresses barriers to women’s health care access. Reform Matters: Making Real Progress for Women and Health Care is a project that encourages women to be active and vocal advocates in the fight for progressive health care reform, and provides them the tools to do so.

The project includes:

• A toolkit for advocates, outlining the basics of health care reform and exploring reform issues and their impact on women’s access to health care.
• A monthly conference call series which provides an ongoing forum for women’s advocates to discuss health care reform, share experiences and questions, and connect with national health policy experts.
• Technical advice and informational assistance, including analysis of policy proposals, research and answers to specific questions, written testimony, and more.

The complete Report on the Health Initiatives of State Women’s Commissions and Councils is available here. For more about the National Women’s Law Center, visit www.nwlc.org or contact Adrienne Ammerman at 202-588-5180.

###

2007 HPV Position

View Document