Rape: A Pre-Existing Condition

Several years ago, Chris Turner was denied health insurance because she had sought treatment for rape. Health insurance agencies told Turner that the anti-AIDS medication her physician had prescribed her and the counseling she took made her uninsurable, even though she tested HIV-negative, The National Women's Law Center reports. She was told to come back in three years, if she was still HIV-free.

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund’s citizen journalism project has uncovered many similar stories, indicating that Turner's situation is not an isolated case. Women have been denied health coverage for conditions resulting from rape, such as sexually transmitted disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and mental health care that their doctors said was critical for recovery. In one case, a woman received treatment for rape, but was later discovered the insurance company would not pay because they looked through her record and discovered she "had been raped before".

"Insurance discrimination against rape victims will only further discourage them from coming forward to law enforcement and seeking medical help," Sandra Park, staff attorney at the Women's Rights Project with the American Civil Liberties Union told the Huffington Post

This is what gets me," Turner said in a statement (see PDF), "There are so many rape survivors who can't or don't get the help that they need--they have to push down their suffering and pain and just try to survive. I feel like I did the right thing by going on medication and getting counseling. And yet I was punished for doing the right thing to take care of myself and my livelihood."

Photo Credit: Steve Rhodes on flickr.com

Democrats' House Health Care Bill

On Friday the House Democrats unveiled their House Health Care Bill in response to President Obama's mission to revamp our nation's health care system.

The Democrats claim that under this bill, 95% of Americans would have health insurance, compared with the estimated 47 million uninsured Americans under age 65 in our country today. The bill also touts a new public health insurance plan which will compete with private plans already in existence.

Republicans and private insurance companies are generating serious opposition, suggesting that this new approach could lead to government takeover of health care.

Under the Democrat’s House Health Care Bill...

• All Americans would be required to have health insurance
• Employers would be required to provide health insurance or pay a fee equivalent to 8% of their payroll
• Insurance companies could no longer deny coverage or charge higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions
• Eligibility for Medicaid would be expanded
• Prescription drug coverage under Medicare would be expanded
• A new advisory committee lead by the surgeon general would standardize coverage
• Out-of-pocket spending would be capped
• Community health centers and increased funding for state and local public health programs would be expanded
• New national service corps for health would be expanded
• Medicare would be modernized and costs would be controlled by preventing waste, fraud, abuse and reducing paperwork
  

The bill would allow for a tax on individuals who do not comply with the new insurance standards. The tax would be proportional to one’s income, would not exceed the cost of a basic insurance policy, and individuals may be exempt in cases of hardship.

While the bill appears to be comprehensive, it is impossible to form a complete opinion about the bill until a cost estimate becomes available. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have shared how they plan to fund their respective bills.

Under this bill, I am of course seriously concerned with what reproductive health services are available for women in the possible new public insurance option. This discussion provides the perfect opportunity to make sure reproductive health needs are acknowledged and included in any new legislation.

Within our current health care system, women endure serious barriers to proper health care as they suffer higher health costs compared to men and are less likely than men to be eligible for coverage from their employers. According to this fact sheet, there are some major health provisions for women in the draft of the house bill including banning gender rating so women cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions or a history of health problems, which often includes survivors of domestic violence.

We need to advocate for comprehensive care for women that includes standardized reproductive health services as basic human rights. Extensive evidence proves that women’s overall health is directly linked to their reproductive health, thus any effort to improve the system, and therefore our nation’s health, must be rooted in providing accessible, affordable and quality reproductive health care for women.

Health care reform is complex and confusing but this interactive website is a great resource where you can compare proposals. While many of the specific details are unknown at this point, educate yourself about the bill and follow its development as it moves through Congress. Comment on this blog post, tweet your thoughts and read this fantastic report for more specifics.

Tina Tchen, Small Businesses, and Why Women Everywhere Should Care About Health Care Reform

Overall awesome feminist, Tina Tchen (Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement) just posted on the White House blog about health care and small businesses as they pertain to women's realities.

I love this post. First, because Tina Tchen is totally one of my sheroes (term borrowed from Tania - thanks!), and I LOVE the fact that the post is based on a roundtable she hosted with Secretary Sebelius at one of my favorite DC small businesses, StitchDC.

Second, I think Ms. Tchen gives us something to really sink our teeth into as feminists. We hear about health care reform and the failures of our health care system on the news all the time. I'm guilty of rolling my eyes when yet ANOTHER talking head starts to drone on about the subject. But I shouldn't, and I'm publicly promising - here and now - to do better.

Why? Because while we hear the words "Health Care Reform" regularly, as a feminist it upsets me that we don't as frequently hear about the disproportionate impact that these failures have on women or the obstacles that small business-owning women face.

According to a report released last week by the Department of Health and Human Services:

• less than half of women are able to obtain health insurance coverage through their work
• women of reproductive age are subject to higher premiums than their male counterparts (up to 150% for 22 year olds!)
• class and social status seem to have a lot to do with whether women are able to afford individual insurance plans or obtain insurance another way (e.g., through a spouse's plan)

Inequitable access to health care is a feminist issue, and health care reform should be, too. We should be seeking a fundamental change in our system of health care that encourages preventative care, makes health care accessible to all (regardless of gender, age, sexuality, marital status and/or socioeconomic class).

In her blog post, Ms. Tchen discusses the stories of some of the small women business owners she met with.

"We were joined by 7 women small business owners who explained firsthand how skyrocketing costs are making it nearly impossible for small businesses to provide health care benefits for employees and their families. Marie Connolly, who owns Stitch, discussed how difficult it was to lose employees because she was not able to offer them health care coverage. As is the case with many small business owners, Ms. Connolly was forced to choose between not providing health care insurance for her employees in order to remain competitive, or providing such benefits and risk going out of business altogether."

We can rail against corporate America all we want, but is it any surprise that in an economic crisis, people choose to work for big businesses if small, independent businesses are unable to provide benefits? Sure, we all love our indy coffee shops, but if I was an uninsured woman, or had a family to be responsible for, etc.. I can see how the benefits package at Starbucks might be more enticing. (Now, whether the coffee is tolerable or not is a completely different issue..)

The point is, for our sake and the sake of small businesses we love, we should all care about health care reform. Check out the Government's website here: HealthReform.gov to view reports and see updates. Contact your legislators and let them know you support reform, how it will alleviate difficulties for small business owners, and why equitable access to health care is important to YOU.

We hope to see movement on this in the near future, but the critical thing to remember is that such a fundamental shift in the way things are done will require a lot of work. It's incumbent upon us to keep an eye out for it, to speak up when we're concerned, and to take a stand.

As always, please comment below with your thoughts and responses!

Image source: Roadblocks to Health Care