Health Care Reform By The Numbers: 9

Why health care reform is needed in America:

9 — that’s  number of states and the District of Columbia where there is still no specific law that makes it illegal for insurers to reject applicants who are survivors of domestic violence by citing the history of domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.¹

Unfortunately, the gender inequalities across our broken heath care system don’t end there.  In many states, insurance companies can still discriminate on the basis of gender — charging women higher premiums than men simply because of their gender or denying coverage because of so-called “pre-existing conditions” like being pregnant, experiencing a prior pregnancy complication, or having undergone a C-section.  And health plans in the individual market often do not cover basic maternity care.

President Obama’s proposal for health insurance reform would end the days of discrimination based on gender.  Insurance companies would be banned from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and would have to cover preventative care like mammograms.

Natoma Canfield is like most of us: She works hard, and tries to do what’s right. Years ago, she had battled back from cancer, so she always maintained health insurance in case she ever really needed it again. But because of her medical history, the insurance company kept raising her deductible and her premiums.

Last year alone, Natoma paid over $10,000 in monthly premiums and co-pays, while her insurance company chipped in just $900. And then they hiked up her rates another 40%. She simply couldn’t afford it — she had to cancel her policy.
That was two weeks ago. Then, just last week, the unthinkable happened: Natoma collapsed, and was rushed to a hospital. It’s leukemia — the cancer has returned. Now she’s in the hospital, worried sick not just about her condition, but how she’ll financially survive.

The content for this post was taken from the White House