Yep. A 2009 report on gender rating in the health insurance market found that a 25 year old woman may be charged up to 84% more than a 25 year old man for identical coverage. In states without laws prohibiting this kind of gender rating, 95% of best-selling insurance plans practice price rating based on gender.
BUT NOT FOR LONG! The good news is that under the Affordable Care Act (known to many as "Obamacare"), this kind of gender discrimination in health insurance is prohibited! As of January 1, 2014, insurance companies won't be able to charge women differently than men. They also won't be able to charge more or deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, which can include common and serious conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and asthma.
Find out more at healthcare.gov.
Source: Brigette Courtot and Julia Kaye, National Women’s Law Center, Still Nowhere to Turn: Insurance Companies Treat Women Like a Pre-Existing Condition, October 2009, available at http://www.nwlc.org/resource/still-nowhere-turn-insurance-companies-trea..., accessed August 26, 2010.
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