Earlier this month, news broke that Anthem Blue Cross of California (which is owned by record profit-earning Wellpoint) was planning to hike premiums by 39% for over 1 million of their members--pricing many of them out of receiving insurance. But it's not just in California. A new report from the Center for American Progress revealed this week that similar rate hikes are occurring in states across the country--driving up costs to consumers by as much as 70%.
The rate hikes are pricing everyone out of coverage, but it's particularly painful for women. Women seeking insurance on the private market already pay higher rates, through a process known as "gender rating." Gender rating is insurance company-speak for arbitrarily charging women more than men for the same exact insurance policies. (And if you want to make the argument that women cost more than men to insure, you're going to lose. The difference in premium rates between men and women is greater than the difference in coverage costs. Translation: It's discrimination, stupid.)
Women are already charged up to 48% more for individual plans - so it follows that women will face the highest premiums in this latest round of rate hikes. But it gets worse. According to the Women's Media Center, around 18 percent of American women are already without health insurance. More than 50% of all women report having difficulties accessing health care due to cost, even when they have insurance. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that by hiking rates 39% - 70% higher, women will be disproportionately impacted. (And by "impacted" we mean uninsured and unable to afford care.)
In eight states and the District of Columbia, it's perfectly legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence. Women who've had a c-section pregnancy (which now happens for 1/3 of all births) are routinely denied coverage. We've even proved that insurers have required women get sterilized if they want to receive insurance, as was the case with Peggy Robertson.
Yesterday at the White House health care summit, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) raised women's health issues in the context of reform. Specifically, she called attention to the issue of pre-existing conditions, calling insurance companies' practices of denying coverage to women based on pre-existing conditions "cruel," "capricious" and "done only to enhance the bottom line." Watch:
Rep. Slaughter's comments are particularly timely in light of these latest insurance premium hikes. While Congress endlessly debates reform, women are dealing with the consequences of our broken system. Luckily, even the far-from-perfect Senate bill voted on in December included provisions prohibiting "gender rating," requiring coverage of women's preventative care (e.g. mammograms) and expanding maternity care. As Sen. Barbara Mikulski once said, "We want equal access and equal benefits for equal premiums." It's just that simple.
Lots of people are talking about these rate hikes, but they're not talking about how it impacts women. Help us spread the word about "gender rating" and the treatment of being a woman as a "pre-existing condition." Take a number, and post on Twitter and Facebook: http://ticket.seiu.org/
