From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 94 17:18:22 EDT

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PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE

               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND                    

The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group   
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To contact the HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND, please call us at
(202)628-4160, fax us at (202) 347-5323 or write to us at PO Box
1396  Washington, DC  20013.  WE CANNOT RESPOND TO E-MAIL.  
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                       CONTACT:  Douglas Hattaway 
                                 202-628-4160 office
                                 202-265-5573 home

           HELMS AND ALLIES TO ATTACK NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE
                           IN HEALTH REFORM BILL

     Calls to Senate Urged to Protect Equal Rights in Health Care

     WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and his allies in
the Senate are poised to attack a provision in the health reform
bill that would prohibit discrimination in health care on the
basis of sexual orientation and health status.  No federal law
protects lesbian and gay Americans from being denied medical
services, provided substandard care or otherwise discriminated
against in health care.  The health reform bill introduced by
Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) would prohibit
such discrimination by hospitals, insurance companies and health
care professionals.

     "No one should be denied access to quality health care
because of their sexual orientation," said Daniel Zingale, public
policy director for the Human Rights Campaign Fund.  "Jesse Helms
has been running amok on the floor of the Senate in recent weeks,
attaching anti-gay amendments to everything from agriculture
department funding to the education bill.  Now he and his allies
are after our right to quality health care."

     Readers, their families and friends are urged to call their
Senators to voice their support for equal rights and for health
care reform.  Senators should be asked to oppose any effort to
remove sexual orientation from the non-discrimination clause of
the health reform bill.  Callers can contact the U.S. Capitol at
202- 224-3121 and ask to speak to their Senators.

     "Studies show that lesbian and gay people face widespread
discrimination in health care," Zingale said.  "Most Americans
believe this sort of discrimination is wrong and ought to be
prohibited.  Any health care reform must ensure access to quality
care for all Americans."

     In a survey conducted by the American Association of
Physicians for Human Rights, nine out of ten physicians reported
seeing anti-gay bias in health care.  And 67 percent reported
knowing of lesbian or gay patients who had received substandard
care because of their sexual orientation.  Some insurance
companies "redline" gay neighborhoods and refuse coverage to
certain employers, ostensibly to avoid enrolling people with
HIV/AIDS.

     An independent poll by Mellman Lazarus Lake, Inc., found
that 67 percent of Americans favor a health care reform bill that
specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation in the delivery and quality of health care.

     With more than 80,000 members nationwide, the Human Rights
Campaign Fund is the largest national organization working to end
discrimination and win equal rights for lesbian and gay
Americans.

     1101 14th Street, NW  Suite 200  Washington, DC  20005      
          phone:(202)628-4160      fax:(202) 347-5323