Report rates women's health: improvements needed.

• Position: On First Reading - Brief Article

Are women getting the health care they need or deserve in the relatively affluent United States? Yes and no.

"Despite limited advances, America s health policies are still failing women," says the National Women's Law Center, which produced a report with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Sciences University and others.

The document, "Making the Grade on Women's Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card," suggests women's health care could be improved by increasing access to insurance and health services, upgrading support for preventive health measures, focusing greater attention on reproductive and mental health needs, addressing diferences in income, economic security and education, and placing a greater emphasis on research in women's health.

The report also shows that more can be done to fight the primary health threat to women--cardiovascular disease, a largely preventable condition.

The federal government is playing an important role in helping improve care, especially through recently enacted laws such as the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act and the Health Care Fairness Act.

But disparities still are a key issue--an American woman's health is significantly affected by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability, according to...