Able Maldonado, and even the President of the United States , Barrack Obama.
An McDowell, a field representative for Assembly Member Bill Monning was present at the event. She read a statement issued by Monning in support of marriage equality. Monterey County Supervisor, Jane Parker was in attendance and offered her insightful comments and energy as did the Reverends Jeff Kohn and Greg Ward.
BILL TO BAN SEX DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH INSURANCE
Janice Rocco
January 27, 2009
Study Finds Health Insurers Charging Women Higher Rates
Assemblymember Dave Jones, the new Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, introduced important legislation to prohibit gender discrimination in health insurance rates. AB 119 (Jones) prevents HMOs and insurers from charging men and women different rates for the same health insurance policies in the individual market. Currently, ten other states prohibit "gender rating" of health insurance rates in the individual market, while two others limit it.
Jones pointed to findings from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) 2008 report"Nowhere to Turn: How the Individual Health Insurance Market Fails Women" detailing their investigation of gender discrimination in health insurance premiums and other obstacles to coverage for women.
The NWLC report found huge variations in premiums charged to women and men for identical health plans (the vast majority of which do not cover maternity benefits). In this nationwide study, some insurers charged men and women the same prices, while others charged women as much as 140% more than men. NWLC concluded: "This discriminatory and arbitrary practice creates substantial financial barriers for women seeking to obtain the health care they need; as such the use of gender rating should be abandoned."
Jones' office conducted a simple test through an online health insurance purchasing web site and found individual rates quoted by California-based insurers for a 30-year old applicant, as one example, were almost always higher for women than men for the exact same benefit plan, with the highest quoted rate for women at 134% of the rate for men. In a preliminary review, the California Health Care Foundation (which tracks market trends affecting individual health insurance) reports that gender-based health insurance rates first began to show up in California in any noticeable way for coverage effective in mid-2007.
"If higher rates for women keep them from being able to afford health care coverage, this can mean reduced access to health care and potentially result in poorer health status and health outcomes for women. When it comes to health benefits provided directly by employers, this type of gender discrimination has been banned for over thirty years. Those seeking health insurance in the individual market should have the same protections from gender discrimination as those whose health benefits are provided by their employers," explained Dave Jones, the new Chair of the Assembly Health Committee.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera recently sent a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown notifying the state that San Francisco intends to sue unless the state law allowing gender rating is repealed. The filing of that lawsuit is expected to take place this week |
