Being Female Can Affect A Woman Getting Health Insurance

It turns out in most states, health insurance companies can turn a woman down for insurance coverage simply because of her gender.

One woman, who was turned down for insurance, reapplied to six companies. The only difference was she filled out the applications twice with the same exact preexisting conditions - once as a man and once as a woman. Two of the insurance companies accepted male application while all six rejected the female application.

Unfortunately, it’s currently legal for insurance companies to discriminate against women. It’s called gender rating. A woman can be charged more or turned down altogether simply because she is a woman and insurance companies generally aren’t required to tell anyone why they’re being turned down or billed at a higher rate.

While woman do use more health services than men of the same age, they are getting tests and exams performed, such as mammograms and pap smears that may save lives. This gender discrimination needs to change.

One of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, which most people know as Obamacare, is that being a woman will no longer be a preexisting medical condition which can disqualify a woman from receiving health insurance. This provision reaches full force in 2014. If you have a woman in your life, keep this in mind when you decide to support or not support Obamacare.