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The following are the official policy statements, adopted by the Board of Directors, the governing body of the National Consumers League, which guide the advocacy work of the organization.

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Government at all levels must act to insure access to affordable quality health care for all citizens. As a matter of public policy, the government's role in health care must not be limited to the reimbursement of health care practitioners and facilities for the treatment of the diseased or injured. Rather, government must assume its responsibility to further the total health of consumers, including the quality of their environment, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, their nutritional needs, occupational health and safety, and right to comprehensive preventive health care. An increase in research on the causes of diseases, which eventually could lead to prevention, is critically needed. While medical care itself is inevitably technical and therefore must be left to physicians and other qualified health care providers, it is important that consumers be genuine participants in their own care and have a significant role in shaping public policies which affect them and their families.

There is also a critical need for coordinated, pluralistic, and cost-effective health care delivery systems to deliver high-quality services that are accessible to all people without regard to age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, social or economic condition, or residence.

Towards these ends, the League supports:

1. Primary care as the foundation of a system that provides consumers a full range of quality providers, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, nutritionists, and mental
health workers;

2. Attention to populations with special needs such as children, pregnant women, the poor, people with HIV and AIDS, the elderly, people with mental and physical disabilities, and non-English speakers;

3. Strong emphasis on the development of physician practice guidelines and nursing research based on health outcomes;

4. A network of care available to persons living in underserved urban and rural areas to coordinate fragmented delivery systems, often complicated by inadequate communications and transportation; and development of more effective methods to correct the shortage of medical and health personnel in medically underserved areas-both rural and urban;

5. Long-term care integrated with acute health care services and available in the most appropriate setting;

6. Progressive health care financing based on a uniform payment system with community rating. Deductibles, co-insurance, and co-payments are obstacles to full access to the health care system and should be eliminated or at least held to a minimum;

7. Specific published prices for health care services and the prohibition against providers requiring consumers to pay additional fees;

8. Consumer access to comprehensive and accurate information and education about the range and implications of available health care options;

9. Managed care organizations, including health maintenance organizations, as a choice for consumers with participation on a voluntary basis;

10. Requirement for a safe environment in workplaces, including the proper disposal of industrially related toxics and research on occupational health hazards. Workplaces that are dangerous or expose employees to long-term health risks impose substantial burdens on the system;

11. The requirement that when new medical technologies are disseminated that there be adequate assessment of the effectiveness and requirements for training and teaching so that these technologies do not harm quality of medical care and possibly greatly add to the cost;

12. Careful monitoring and regulating of promotion and advertising of prescription drugs;

13. Consumers' right to an appeals process to contest unfair administrative or medical decisions;

14. Unrestricted access of consumers to their medical records, and their right to correct inaccurate information and control dissemination of confidential information; and

15. Consumer representation in either an administrative, advisory, or advocacy capacity at every level and in every sector of health care.

In addition, NCL:

1. Endorses the concept of comprehensive health care as a universal right and joins with other groups in health coalitions to support a national health plan. Proposals should include dental care, prescription drugs, psychiatric care, and long-term care to the extent that it is medically necessary;

2. Calls for health-care cost containment policies, both state and federal, as well as voluntary efforts to restrain health costs through broad community coalitions,
labor/management cooperation, and collective bargaining negotiations;

3. Opposes cuts in Medicare and Medicaid which are of vital importance to the elderly, disabled, and poor; and supports all efforts to make these programs more responsible to the health-care needs of these groups by expanding covered services, and, in Medicaid, expanding eligibility to all the poor and indigent;

4. Supports expanding Medicare services to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, foot care, preventive care, and long-term care in all appropriate settings, including home health care, assisted living, hospices, and intermediate and skilled nursing homes. Financial barriers to participation in Medicare, such as high deductibles, coinsurance, and premiums should be reduced or eliminated;

5. Calls for expanding Medicare to include a voluntary, comprehensive, affordable, and guaranteed prescription drug benefit available to all beneficiaries;

6. Expresses concern about the rapid takeover by giant, for-profit conglomerates of health care services of all kinds - hospitals, nursing homes, home health care, HMOs, managed care organizations, and other health care services - and calls for financial and other support for continuing, strong, and community-oriented non-profit health care institutions;

7. Urges, in response to the misdistribution of primary care physicians and other health personnel, substantially increased federal assistance to medical, public health, and allied health professional schools and to economically disadvantaged students, in order to encourage better distribution of health professionals to meet consumer demand; and

8. Believes health professionals should adhere to a high standard of ethical behavior. This includes avoiding conflict of interest or undue influence by marketing appeals in decision-making.

-Adopted December 13, 2000

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Government at all levels must act to insure access to affordable quality health care for all citizens. As a matter of public policy, the government's role in health care must not be limited to the reimbursement of health care practitioners and facilities for the treatment of the diseased or injured.

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nclnet.org is the online home of the National Consumers League, America's pioneering consumer advocacy organization

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LEADING PATIENT ADVOCATES LAUNCH PRETERM BIRTH PREVENTION ALLIANCE TO PROTECT CRITICAL ACCESS TO THE SOLE FDA-APPROVED CLASS OF THERAPIES TO REDUCE RECURRENT PRETERM BIRTH

WASHINGTON, DC, April 20, 2021 - Today, the National Consumers League (NCL), along with a coalition of patient advocacy organizations dedicated to advancing the health of mothers and infants, announced the launch of the >Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance.

Members of the Alliance are joining forces in an effort to preserve patient access to the only Food & Drug Administration-approved class of treatments for pregnant women who have previously had an unexpected, or spontaneous, preterm birth. Together, Alliance members seek to ensure that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hears concerns from the full range of stakeholders about the potential risks and impact of withdrawal for at-risk pregnant women and their providers.

For the fifth year in a row, the U.S. preterm birth rate has increased (to 10.2 percent of births), and preterm birth and its complications were the second largest contributor to infant death across the country. Preterm birth also represents a significant racial health disparity, with Black women in America experiencing premature delivery at a rate 50 percent higher than other racial groups throughout the country.

However, in 2020, the FDA withdrawing hydroxyprogesterone caproate, commonly called "17P" or "17-OHPC", the only FDA-approved class of branded and generic treatments to help prevent the risk of preterm birth in women with a history of spontaneous preterm birth. The FDA is currently determining whether to hold a hearing on the status of 17P, based on conflicting efficacy data from two studies composed of vastly different patient populations, one inclusive of women in the U.S. most vulnerable to preterm birth and one not.

"We're fighting for a more inclusive healthcare system that gives everyone an equal chance to have the best outcomes possible," said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League. "We don't believe that removing 17P from the market without gaining a better understanding of who could benefit the most from its use is in the best interests of patients, nor their healthcare providers, particularly as there are no other approved treatment options available."

To date, 14 organizations have joined NCL to advocate for the health interests of at-risk pregnant women and infants, including: 1,000 Days; 2020 Mom; American Association of Birth Centers; Black Mamas Matter Alliance; Black Women's Health Imperative; Expecting Health; Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Montana; HealthyWomen; Miracle Babies; National Birth Equity Collaborative; National Black Midwives Alliance; National Partnership for Women & Families; Sidelines High-Risk National Support Network; and SisterReach.

"As a trained obstetrician and gynecologist, I know firsthand the impact of preterm birth on Black women and birthing people. I also know that racism - not race - is the driving factor leading the disproportionate impact of preterm birth on Black women and birthing people thereby exacerbating systemic inequities in maternal and infant health. To achieve birth equity, which is the assurance of the conditions of optimal births for all people with a willingness to address racial and social inequities in a sustained effort, we must work to protect and uphold a standard of care for spontaneous, recurrent preterm births and ensure it remains accessible and affordable for all who stand in need," added Dr. Joia Crear Perry, founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative.

The Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance is calling for the FDA to grant a public hearing to fully consider all of the data, additional research methods, and stakeholder perspectives before deciding whether to withdraw approval of this critical class of therapies. The health of America's moms and babies warrants the utmost care and consideration.

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ABOUT THE PRETERM BIRTH PREVENTION ALLIANCE
The Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance is a coalition of maternal and women's health advocates who share a common concern about the state of preterm birth in the United States and the proposed market withdrawal of 17P, the only FDA-approved class of treatments to help prevent spontaneous, recurrent preterm birth. Formed in 2021 by the National Consumers League, we seek to improve preterm birth outcomes in the United States by maintaining access to safe, FDA-approved treatment options and advocating for more diverse medical research that adequately represents the experiences of women and newborns of color. Women of color need a seat at the table. To learn more, visit www.pretermbirthalliance.org.

Initial support for the Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance is provided by Covis Pharma.
MEDIA CONTACT:

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LEADING PATIENT ADVOCATES LAUNCH PRETERM BIRTH PREVENTION ALLIANCE TO PROTECT CRITICAL ACCESS TO THE SOLE FDA-APPROVED CLASS OF THERAPIES TO REDUCE RECURRENT PRETERM BIRTH WASHINGTON, DC, April 20, 2021 - Today, the National Consumers League (NCL), along with a coalition of patient advocacy organizations dedicated to advancing the health of mothers and infants, announced the launch of the >Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance .