Earlier this month, we covered the fact that in eight states it is actually legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence because they have a "pre-existing condition." But, the outrage doesn't stop there: research has clearly shown that insurance companies are systematically discriminating against women.
There are only 10 states (Washington, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine) where it is illegal for insurance companies to take gender into account when decided how much to charge someone for their insurance policy. Thus, as a result of "gender rating," insurance companies actually charge women more than men for the same plans. Across the country, 25 year old women are charged up to 45 percent more than 25 year old men for the same coverage.
Insurers justify charging women higher premiums than men by claiming that women require health care services more frequently than men do. How much more? Well, judging by rate variations, insurance companies haven't figured that out yet. In Missouri, for example, rates for 40 year old women range from 15% to 45% more than rates for men of the same age and for equivalent coverage. It would seem then that the insurance industry is simply using the specter of women's increased need for medical care as justification to increase their premiums arbitrarily, with little concern for the actual cost disparities that may exist.
And this is just the tip of the ice berg! Over the coming week, we'll cover other ways in which women are consistently marginalized in the insurance market place. If you're not outraged yet, we promise you will be by the end of this week.
