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DCCC: Does U.S. Rep. Latham think women should pay more for health care?
10/7/2009



Two simple questions for Representative Tom Latham: should women pay more for health care and should insurance companies be allowed to call pregnancy a pre-existing condition? That’s the status quo that Latham and Republican Leaders are fighting to protect.

House Republicans defending these discriminatory practices against women should not come as any surprise following the NRCC’s comment this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be ‘put in her place.’

“Does Representative Tom Latham think women should pay more for health care and pregnancy should be considered a pre-existing condition,” asked Ryan Rudominer, National Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The fact that Representative Latham would still fight to protect a status quo where women and families pay more for health care in this tough economy redefines what it means to be out of touch.”

Background

Currently, women of child-bearing age pay higher rates based on their gender and are routinely (and legally) denied coverage if they are pregnant. Legislation pending in Congress would dramatically change the rules [McClatchy Newspapers; October 7, 2009].

Denying Coverage for Pregnancy and Childbirth:

Defending the practice, one insurance spokesman called pregnancy a “matter of choice.” To make matters worse, many insurance companies consider C-Sections a “pre-existing condition” while a subsidiary of United Health, one of the biggest insurance companies in the nation, “simply rejects” women who have had C-Sections. [San Francisco Chronicle, 3/24/09], [New York Times, 6/1/08]

Premiums and Gender Rating:

In 2008, 14.5 million American women purchased health insurance through the individual market. [U.S. Census Bureau]

According to a recent study, these women pay up to 48% more in premiums than men. In all but 12 states, insurance companies are completely free to continue this practice of “gender rating.” They defend it in a number of ways, citing “egghead actuaries” and the fact that only women get pregnant. One industry official even acknowledged that women’s more frequent doctor’s visits lead to “better future health,” but even he still defended the practice of gender rating. [National Women’s Law Center, “Nowhere to Turn: How the Individual Health Insurance Market Fails Women,” 2008], [Los Angeles Times, 6/22/09], [Miami Herald, 3/1/09]

The NRCC on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

“If Nancy Pelosi's failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place.” [NRCC Press Release; October 6, 2009]

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