From the moment I saw my first insurance rate sheet that showed women pay more for health care coverage I thought it was outrageous. It’s still an issue and it’s wrong. On top of that, insurance companies in some states can deny women health care coverage by citing domestic violence as a pre-existing condition. There are so many things wrong with that it makes me sick.
Being pregnant is also a pre-existing condition … don’t get me started. What a fucking joke!
From: Nancy-Ann DeParle, The White House [mailto:info@messages.whitehouse.gov] Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:49 AM To: scot Subject: 9
Good afternoon,
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.
For America's women and families, the time is now for health insurance reform.
9 is the latest number in ‘Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform. Help spread the word by sharing this message with your family, friends and online networks.
Let's get it done.
Nancy-Ann DeParle Director, White House Office of Health Reform
P.S. Still have questions about what reform means for you and your family? Tune in tonight at 5:15 p.m. EDT and get your questions answered live by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
1 National Women's Law Center, Still Nowhere to Turn
The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111
This evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history. But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn't just witness history tonight -- you helped make it. Each "yes" vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard. So this is a night to celebrate -- but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun. The final Senate bill hasn't even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people's voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now. Can you donate $25 or whatever you can afford so we can finish this fight? https://donate.barackobama.com/History2 Tonight's vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made. Even after last year's election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn't like. Now, they're desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing -- and the people will not be ignored. In the final phases of last year's election, I often reminded folks, "Don't think for a minute that power concedes without a fight," and it's especially true today. But that's okay -- we're not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win. Please donate to OFA's campaign to win this fight and ensure that real health reform reaches my desk by the end of this year: https://donate.barackobama.com/History2 Let's keep making history, President Barack Obama
I mean, what is liberty? What is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Why is it that the guy standing on either side of me in line at the grocery store is more or less (equal) than I am? Why does my neighbor deserve more or less security in that pursuit than I? There are basic human needs, which we can all recite by heart: food, clothing and shelter. But when I’m poor these things are hard to find. When I lose my job, I begin to wonder how these essentials will be covered. When I have what I need, often I have too much of it and take it for granted until it’s too late, such as when the pressures of a failing economy seep into my house, or when my pregnancy becomes a financial burden. Recently, I saw a man on television who was attending a healthcare rally wearing a neon green t-shirt that read “Don’t Tread On Me.” Had I been standing there next to him I would have said, Yeah, I just saw “John Adams,” too. Great series. Funny, I didn’t know that we were still at war with Britain. Remember the scene where the Adams family awaits their inoculations thanks to the dying guy in the cart? Hey, when you lose your job we’ll make sure to use your body as our traveling health clinic…because you are now less than I am. Thanks in advance. This isn’t about me or about him. It’s about all of us. Call it Zen and the art of healthcare reform.
When we focus on what we are really afraid of, we forget to remember that the tables could turn quite easily and we could be forgotten, not-remembered and forced into a position so many have experienced already. If we are afraid that we are going to be tread upon, we fail to consider how our stubborn short-sightedness treads upon others. What I am talking about is the perpetuation of the notion of deservedness. How do you or I perpetuate a failing system, fears, misinformation? How do we perpetuate an old way of thinking? How do we perpetuate the success or failure of the overall health of our communities? How do we perpetuate an old notion that practicing medicine is about prestige and not about the health of a society? How do we perpetuate discrimination? Of women and families? Of the poor? Of the underserved and uninsured? Now, with the growing number of formerly secure employable unemployed – friends, family, about whose lack of security and increased misfortune we are shocked and scared, because it could be one of us and encroaches ever-closer to home – how have we perpetuated/participated in the failure to take care of one another, to give a shit about one another?
A personal story from Michelle about her daughter; a cancer survivor about her insurance struggles and a message from Kathleen Sebelius - Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The debate over health care is critical to all Americans and cancer survivors are no different. As members of LIVESTRONG Action, we petition Congress to ensure that the needs of cancer survivors are addressed.
Too many cancer survivors today are denied new coverage or have their current coverage revoked when they need it most. This is inexcusable and must change. We demand that any healthcare reform bill passed by Congress address these urgent problems and include the following:
No American should be denied health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
No American should lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment.
Our current system is deeply flawed and continues to push people out of coverage due to high costs, job changes, job loss, coverage gaps and pre-existing conditions.
I know there is a lot of work do be done but we need to make a change for the better of the American People. Health Insurance should be a right and not a privilege.
And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family's health will never again depend on the amount of a family's wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will – yes, we will – fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.
