DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Statement on New Report Showing that Women Continue to Pay More Than Men for Health Insurance Until Reform Goes Into Effect in 2014

By DNC Press

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement today on the new report from the National Women’s Law Center which shows that in states across the country, women continue to pay more than men for health insurance—an unfair gender gap that will continue until the part of President Obama’s health reform law that bans this practice goes into effect in 2014:

“The news that in states across the country, including my home state of Florida, women continue to pay more than men for the same health insurance is further proof that President Obama’s health reform law is so important. Right now, women pay up to 50% more than men for the very same health coverage. Even if a woman’s policy does not cover maternity care, she can still be charged more because the insurance company fears it will be on the hook for complications from a pregnancy. When the part of the law that bans this practice goes into effect in 2014, being a woman will no longer be considered a pre-existing condition. That’s good news for women and their families, and will make it easier for women to get basic health care services they need.

“But we know that if Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, or Rick Santorum get their way this discriminatory practice will continue. They have all said they want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and with it all the protections it puts in place, like prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the preventative care to which it makes sure women have access, like cancer screenings. That’s why this election is so important, and it’s why we need to reelect President Obama to a second term.”