Yes We Can! Long Island 2012Michelle Obama spoke eloquently last week about the importance of health care reform for women. It turns out that women are disproportionately affected by shortcomings in the current healthcare system because of the roles that we play in families and the jobs we do in the economy.
Yet until now, the healthcare struggles and insurance inequities many women face have not even been part of the reform debate.
Republicans, seeing the threat, immediately ridiculed the First Lady. Sen. John Kyle, the Arizona conservative, declared he should not be required to pay premiums to help finance maternity costs, since he has never needed maternity care. Sen. Debbie Stabenow pointed out that his mother probably did. And what about his wife (the Kyles have two children)?
It’s up to us to make women’s health part of the discussion starting now. Please share the information below with your friends, family, and everyone on your email lists. (Write to your elected officials. Or write a letter to the editor. Or turn the facts below into a flyer and hand out to friends. If you belong to a women’s group, make sure members receive copies.)
It’s time we let everyone know that women are second-class citizens under the current health care system. Women in New York are luckier than most because of regulation protecting us against blatant gender discrimination, but that’s not true in many states where our sisters, cousins, and friends live. Ask your friends-especially those in more conservative states-to tell their members of Congress to support women by supporting healthcare reform that forbids discrimination based on gender or pre-existing conditions and contains a public option, which is vital to help control costs.
WHY WOMEN NEED HEALTH CARE REFORM: NOW!
Too many middle class American women are either underinsured or struggling to pay their monthly premiums because of the skyrocketing price of health care. Health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years, resulting in many small businesses and individuals shedding their health insurance because they can’t afford these increases. The price of prescription drugs is rising unimpeded as well, meaning that too many low and middle-income women cannot afford the medicines they need.
Here are the harsh realities that women face under our current system:
One out of every seven women in the U.S. is uninsured. That adds up to 19 million women. Yet almost two-thirds of uninsured women are in families with one adult working fulltime.
As many as 45 percent of women are either uninsured or under-insured, meaning their nominal health coverage does not insure them against catastrophic health costs.
For decent, affordable healthcare, Americans generally need a permanent, fulltime job, working for a large company or the government. But because of family responsibilities, women drop in and out of the workforce and are less likely than men to work fulltime (52 percent versus 73 percent). They are also more likely to work for a small business, which often do not provide health insurance.
The five out of 10 women who are either part-time employees or not employed at all, like stay-at-home moms, must rely on buying expensive private insurance, public programs, or insurance provided by a spouse. If the spouse is laid off, the entire family loses coverage.
Insurance companies charge women during their reproductive years as much as 1 and 1/2 times more in premiums than they charge men. Yet women working fulltime make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, so they have less money available to spend on health care coverage. Moreover, 60 percent of minimum wage workers are women.
A standard in-hospital delivery typically runs between $7,000 and $10,000, excluding the cost of prenatal care. If anything goes wrong, the bill can be much higher. Yet the vast majority of individual insurance plans do not even offer maternity coverage. Private insurers can legally reject pregnant women on the grounds that their pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. Some companies consider a Caesarean a pre-existing condition as well (30 percent of US births are now C-sections).
The lack of insurance and its high costs are major reasons why 15 percent of American women receive no prenatal care in the first trimester, which in turn contributes to our appallingly high infant mortality rate. (We rank just ahead of Botswana.)
More than 10 states permit insurance companies to exclude coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives.
At least nine states allow insurance companies to deny applications from victims of domestic violence. Companies consider abuse a pre-existing condition!
Many insurance companies exclude pap smears, mammograms, and other routine screening measures that are essential to women’s health.
Insurance companies are currently allowed to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions like women with breast cancer, ovarian cancers, and other diseases that may be inherited.
Baby boomer women between 55 and 65 are 20 percent more likely to be uninsured than men, and uninsured women are less likely to receive preventive health care and screening tests. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, accounting for almost 39 percent of all female deaths. Studies show that after a first heart attack, women are less likely than men to receive diagnostic, therapeutic, and cardiac rehabilitation procedures, and are more likely to die or have a second heart attack.
Women are also more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs. In a recent survey, more than 50 percent of all women reported delaying or avoiding health care services as opposed to 39 percent of men. Women are more likely than men to leave a prescription unfilled; forgo seeing a needed specialist; and skip a medical test, treatment or follow-up.
Even though they skimp on their care to cut costs, nearly 40 percent of women report struggling with medical bills, and one-third of women spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket health costs.
Ironically, linking jobs to insurance leaves many women tethered to full-time jobs they’d rather not have, given their other care-giving responsibilities like caring for children or elderly parents. In fact, 60 percent of full-time working mothers would prefer part-time work, but many keep working because they have no other way to get health benefits.
Pass healthcare reform now! Healthcare reform is critical for improving women’s health and ensuring women get a fair shake from insurers. Every woman should be able to get critical screening, regular check ups, and preventive care. Reform will mean guaranteed eligibility so no American woman will be turned away from an insurance plan because of her gender, pregnancy, or so-called pre-existing conditions.
Thanks for your help spreading the word!
Sue Hornik, NY CD1 volunteer coordinator, Organizing for America
She needs to talk to her husband.
The present proposal which he supports, every one is mandated to buy private health insurance, is as has been pointed out like trying to cure homelessness by mandating that every one buy a house.