I Am Not a Pre-Existing Condition

Originally posted on RH Reality Check.

Is the fact that women experience discrimination in regards to health insurance coverage even debatable at this point? It is critical that health reform discussions address the health issues that disproportionately affect women in this country. Whether we're discussing a public option or more equitable private coverage, women's health must be front and center. The Service Employees International Union has done extensive research, promoted actions and continues to raise awareness around these issues so special gratitude is due to SEIU for the facts and figures below.

Did you know?

• Only 14 states require insurance companies to cover maternity care.
• Only 12% of individual insurance plans include comprehensive maternity coverage.
• Insurance companies can consider prior cesarean sections as a "pre-existing condition" and deny a woman coverage for childbirth. Additionally, in Florida for example, women who have had C-sections are charged 25% more in premiums if they want to retain their health insurance coverage of birth.
• In Illinois, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article on 6/26/07, a woman's emergency C-section (much to her physician's consternation) was denied coverage by BlueCross BlueShield.
• For that matter, pregnancy itself is often considered a "pre-existing condition" by insurance company, therefore it's a reason to deny coverage. According to a 2008 study conducted by the National Women's Law Center, "The vast majority of individuals market health policies that NWLC found do not cover maternity care at all. Even if a woman is not currently pregnant, it is unlikely that an insurer will provide or even offer maternity benefits as part of her regular insurance policy."
• Victim of domestic violence? As the SEIU flyer says, in eight states and Washington DC it is legal for insurance companies to deny health coverage to victims of domestic violence. In fact, when the vote to ensure coverage for individuals in this situation came to the floor of the Senate in 2006 (through a proposed bill by Washington state Senator Patty Murray), ten Republicans voted against it, killing the bill.
• In 2007, Senate Republicans voted to override regulations requiring insurance companies to cover mammograms in more than 20 states. The year prior, ten Republicans voted against requiring insurance companies to cover mammograms.

For the above reasons and so many more, advocates, bloggers and activists have come together to create an awareness campaign, "I Am Not A Pre-Existing Condition" and demanded stronger reform on these issues. What follows is a round-up of some of the posts written thus far. If you'd like to start off by joining the campaign, sign the petition to ensure that health reform measures address gender discrimination and tweet away!

Also, if you do have a twitter account, consider changing your avatar (your profile picture) to the image created by the National Women's Law Center and support change.

Special thanks to Tracy Viselli for these links and for the excellent round-up work done on this issue!

'I Am Not A Pre-Existing Condition' Round-Up of Posts

 

Being A Woman Is Not A Pre-Existing Condition

Being Pregnant an "unhealthy lifestyle choice" (10/12/09)

Breastfeeding infant labeled obese, denied health insurance
*Update - the insurance company reversed its ban citing the fact that babies who are "fat but healthy" will be covered. Seriously.

Women Senators Show Their Male Colleagues What It Means to Have Cojones

VIDEO: Congresswoman Gwen Moore says, "If you're fortunate enough as a woman to have insurance, you're going to pay 68% more of it. Why? Because you have a pre-existing condition: you're an actual, former, or potential, mother. I don't know how you escape those statistics."

Larry King Live: More Democratic Senators' appearances (VIDEO)

Speaker Pelosi: Did You Know That Having Had A Pregnancy Is A "Pre-Existing" Medical Condition?

Women and Insurance: Paying More, Getting Less

Abused then denied care: eight states allow practice Some insurers say victims of domestic violence are too high risk to cover

Emily's List Alums Join Speaker Pelos to Promote Health Care Reform

Democratic Women Senators Unite Behind Health Care Reform

Domestic violence is a "pre-existing condition"?

Republican Senators Vetoed Insurance Protection for Domestic Violence Victims

Rep. Kucinich has opportunity to question insurance

Panel witnesses speak out against denial of coverage for victims of domestic violence: VIDEO

Part of insurance industry's money-making plan: Denying coverage to victims of spousal abuse

Insurance Companies Consider C-section Birth "Pre-Existing Condition"

Rep. Watson questions insurance execs on why domestic violence is a pre-existing condition

Michelle Obama joins Echo Chamber on Domestic Violence as a "Pre-Existing Condition"

Women vs. insurance companies

Pregnant? Don't look to your insurance company for help

Four Senators stand up for women's health care rights

Polls show Republicans just don't get it (but we already knew that)

VIDEO: Female Senators talk women's health care

Taking Congressmen back to school

Women's health care in the news

Speaker Pelosi speaks out against "domestic violence as a pre-existing condition": VIDEO Video of Speaker Pelosi talking about the need to fix DV pre-existing condition loophole.

Domestic violence is STILL a pre-existing condition

 

Follow Amie Newman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amienewman

Comments

[Andre Lieven]

12:57 PM on 10/16/2009

"Is the fact that women experience discrimination in regards to health insurance coverage even debatable at this point?"

Yes, it very much is debatable. Do let us know when women's life expectancy falls BELOW that of men's...

Women's health care issues receive far MORE attention & funding than do men's:

"Funding for gender research at NIH includes:
i. $ 4,376,000,000 for women’s health (breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and “women’s health”)
ii. And $345,000,000 for men’s health (prostate cancer)

Funding for programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include:
i. $ 309,486,000 for breast and cervical cancer
ii. $ 13,243,000 for prostate cancer

http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/wapc/HP%202020%20WAPC%20Testimony.pdf

Oh, and there IS an Office on Women's Health at HHS; Where's the *equal* office for MEN'S health ?

http://www.womenshealth.gov/owh/

[HPdevotee]

07:28 PM on 10/16/2009

You really need to do a little more research on the history of the health care industry. Men's health has always been the default setting in research, symptoms and diagnostics. Women were considered 'little men' in their health care needs with a different reproductive system as their separating identities. It's just been recently that we've become aware of the huge differences in:

heart disease...women present with different symptoms and histories.
Lung cancer...again, women's absence of COPD in diagnostics.
Medications...women's hormonal effects on the effectancy of meds.

"... research has identified sex differences in virtually every system of the human body. From the heart, to the brain, to the immune system, men and women are different."
http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events_sam1998

Yet...

“It turns out that—well into the last half of the 20th century—too much of the medical data still in use was developed by studying Caucasian males. Exclusively.
http://www.spotlight.ucla.edu/unabashed/gouw-unabashed/

And as for the 'equal' office for men's health...it's in every health care office women are treated in.

[RightWingMarine]

06:00 PM on 10/15/2009

as a single, childless male why do I need maternity care or mammograms? Why should my insurance package be required to carry services I will never use? This drives up the cost of my insurance. If a woman wants to have this coverage let her buy it. Same as if a husband wants to provide this coverage for his spouse, let them buy it.

males pay more for auto insurance than females and women can use every feature of auto insurance that men do, can we expect an article from Ms. Newman decrying this as well?

[MJinCanada]

10:40 AM on 10/16/2009

Health care is an essential part of life. Driving is optional. Comparisons between the two are thus flawed.

That said, men pay a little more for auto insurance because they tend to take more risks in driving and get into more accidents. Very rarely is there a woman telling him he can make that light if he floors it. On the other hand, there is usually a guy present when a woman gets pregnant.

[ProudProfiteer]

10:52 PM on 10/17/2009

Is this what you call logic? Insurance pricing and coverage, no matter what kind of insurance it is, is based on risk. If women in general require more health care then men, then they would undoubtedly be more risky. If they are more risky, wouldn't that mean that coverage would be different?

[AHIP KMA]

10:47 AM on 10/16/2009

because the purpose of insurance is to spread the risk?

because for a society to continue--- it needs...new people? how else do you expect new humans to get here? and, well, lack of preNatal is the leading cause of those HUGE neoNatal medical bills...

when your prostate goes, bet you will singing a different tune...

[zoe27]

11:08 AM on 10/16/2009

Or when he enters his 40's and 50's and has a higher risk of heart attack than pre-menopausal women. Men wouldn't expect, or put up with, being told as they are wheeled into emergency having a heart attack, "Sorry, but being male is a pre-existing condition."