By Rosie Martinez
LA County Public Health Nurse
As a health care provider, I am appalled that some insurance companies practice denial of care related to prenatal or domestic violence as “pre-existing conditions.”
If we do nothing, insurance companies will continue to charge women as much as 48% more than men for the same insurance coverage.
The House bill will make “gender-rating” illegal, so insurance companies can no longer charge women more than men, and will ensure no woman will ever be denied health care because they were the victim of domestic violence or rape.
As a public health nurse who works with pregnant teens and at-risk mothers, I also believe reproductive and women’s health care should be considered the right of all women and must be basic elements of health care. Community-based clinics are vital to prevention-based care for women and teens. Family planning must not be separated out from primary health care but rather basic to it.
We must urge our legislators to continue to support health insurance reform so insurance companies can no longer unfairly discriminate against women.
Women deserve safe, confidential, non-judgmental care from a provider of their choice. Health care reform will work best when women are afforded the right to health care at all levels. Let’s get health care reform right for women.
I can’t understand why we should suffer twice at the hands of man? First in domestic violence and then insurance pre-existing condition do to domestic violence.
Its unfortunate that some people can ruin it for the few that truly need it but I don’t think a reform is going to solve the problem but make it much worse. Ideally it should be that the companies that get away with charging 100 to who knows how much percentage in marking up meds, equipment etc. to these doctors and insurances, should be regulated by the government instead of our earned money being taking advantage of by those who will try and get away with something free in this country. In a perfect society this would work but unfortunately we don’t live in one.