Women always pay more for their health, this are some information you should like to know about it…
Women between the ages of 18 and 55 -- you -- shell out 25 to 50 percent more than men for identical health insurance. Ludicrous, we know.
But last Tuesday the health-care industry offered to help a sister out by not charging women higher premiums than men. (This is after insurers said in November that they would accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability, if Congress required all citizens to have health coverage. In March, they took the next step and offered to stop charging higher premiums to sick people.) But like all good things, there's a catch: We'd all have to buy our own insurance as a way to avoid a universal health-care system.
Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News
At a Senate hearing earlier this month, Karen M. Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, claimed her trade group would close the gap in coverage costs for women if they purchased individual insurance. The gesture comes as a defense against the Obama administration's proposed universal health-care plan, which would have the government and the insurance industry competing for clients.
Obviously, there are pros and cons to both sides. Under a universal health-care plan, people worry about the quality of health care or having to wait months for a doctor's visit. (Just ask our neighbors to the North about their government-run system.) But it'd be free*. Without the creation of a universal health-care plan, you'd be paying monthly fees for insurance whose quality you'd be able to select.
Here's to Your Health
Why do women pay more for health care? Because we take better care of ourselves. Keep reading after the jump.
From the NY Times article:
"In interviews last fall, insurance executives said they had a sound reason for the different premiums: Women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost more than men of the same age because they typically use more health care, especially in the childbearing years. Moreover, insurers said women were more likely to visit doctors, to get regular checkups, to take prescription medications and to have certain chronic illnesses."
Yep.
If you're a 30-year-old woman in Florida, for example, Blue Cross Blue Shield will charge you $109 to $133 a month under its Cover Florida plan. A man of the same age would only pay from $92 to $116. We'll let you fantasize about what you could do with that extra $40 a month if only you hadn't been born a girl.
And sadly, high insurance is keeping many women from being covered. A new study by the Commonwealth Fund further confirms the scary trend. About 70 percent, or 63.8 million, of working-age women in the U.S. have no insurance, too little insurance, have medical debt or skimped on care because of costs. Just 59 percent, or 51.9 million, of working-age men are in a similar boat.
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