The House Appropriations Committee voted on a health care plan that would allow women quick access to their gynecologists.
The panel voted 29-25 to let women designate their gynecologists as their primary health providers and to bypass HMO referrals to see their gynecologists for routine care. “If we can’t deliver on a patient’s bill of rights, let’s simply deliver on this non-controversial issue,” said New York Representative Nita Lowey. Lowey said that the amendment would allow women to visit the gynecologist “without jumping through the hoops that HMO’s put up.”
The House Appropriations Committee also voted to make parental notification mandatory for federally-funded clinics when contraception is prescribed or provided to minors. President Clinton announced that he would veto the bill.
