Opinion Piece, Editorial Examine Health Insurance Premiums For Women

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 13 May 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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A recent opinion piece and editorial examined the disparity in health insurance premiums for women. Summaries appear below.

~ Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Boston Herald: In recognition of National Women's Health Week and Mother's Day, Kerry writes that he has introduced the Women's Health Insurance Fairness Act of 2009, which would "bring fairness to the millions of women who get health insurance through the individual market" and would "put an end to the discrimination too many women encounter in buying health insurance." He argues that "guaranteeing fairness to women in the individual insurance market should not be left just to the states," but should be federally mandated. According to Kerry, his bill will "stop insurers from denying or limiting coverage that treats conditions involving pregnancy as a pre-existing condition" and "require all insurance policies offered on the individual market to provide a full scope of maternity services, from preconception to postpartum." The legislation grants the HHS secretary the authority to regulate compliance and levy fines up to $10,000 against any health care provider that does not comply. It also calls on the Government Accountability Office to point out any additional problems women have in the individual insurance market. Kerry concludes, "It is long past the time we should end the kind of discrimination women face in the individual market," adding that it is "long past the time we should make sure women are treated fairly in the market" (Kerry, Boston Herald, 5/10).

~ Las Vegas Sun: "Equal premiums for men and women will be a good start" for testing the "extent to which insurers and other health care participants are willing to go to help make the [U.S. health care system] more affordable and accessible," a Sun editorial states. According to the Sun, "The mere threat of massive change is forcing key participants in the health care debate to rethink their resistance to change." Therefore, the recent offer by health insurers to stop charging women higher premiums than men "likely wouldn't have been made were Obama and congressional Democrats not seriously considering a government-run health care plan that would compete with the insurance industry," the editorial says. The Sun concludes, "Obama and Congress should be careful not to get caught up in health care industry promises if they still leave tens of millions of Americans uninsured" (Las Vegas Sun, 5/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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