COVERAGE: Connecticut Examines Gender Disparities In Insurance Rates

Risk-adjusted rates or a case of gender discrimination?

That's exactly what Connecticut lawmakers are trying to figure out, according to the Hartford Courant. This week, lawmakers heard testimony on a proposal to ban the consideration of gender in determining health insurance rates on the individual market.

A report released by the National Women's Law Center in September found that 40-year-old women in Connecticut pay an average of four to 48 percent more for health insurance than 40-year-old males enrolled in the exact same plan. The range of variation in premiums increases for women over 55—they can pay anywhere between 37 percent more or 22 percent less than their male counterparts. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has spoken out against such disparities, arguing that it should be just as illegal to base rates on gender as it would be to base rates on considerations such as race or religion.

Not everyone agrees that gender disparities are a form of bias. Health insurance industry lobbyists have argued that they're not discriminating—they're just looking at the numbers. Speaking on behalf of the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, Keith Stover warned that eliminating the consideration of gender from rate determination wouldn't stop rates from going up for some and down for others, potentially leaving low-risk groups without insurance because their premiums will increase.

Last year, the New York Times reported on the NWLC study, warning that problems with individual health insurance rates are going to become more pronounced in the current economic downturn, as more people lose their jobs and have to find health care coverage on their own. Insurers have argued that women under 55 are simply more costly to insure, because they use more health care services, especially in relation to pregnancy. However, as we have discussed previously, most individual market health insurance plans do not actually include coverage for pregnancy. Women also face other obstacles in acquiring coverage—those who have had cesarean sections and survivors of domestic violence are also frequently denied coverage.

If the Connecticut measure passes, the state will join Maine, Montana and New York, who have already passed similar legislation prohibiting the consideration of gender in the determination of individual health insurance rates.