Premium Disparity in Health Insurance
By: wdporter
The latest newsletter from the National Association of Health Underwriters referenced an article in the New York Times about the disparity of health insurance premiums between men and women:
Data indicate cost disparities among women, men for individual insurance policies.
The New York Times (10/30, A23, Pear) reports, “Striking new evidence has emerged of a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage, according to new data from insurance companies and online brokers.” Price quotes and rate tables indicate that “the disparities are evident in premiums charged by major insurers like Humana, UnitedHealth, Aetna, and Anthem.” And, although “in job-based coverage, civil rights laws prohibit sex discrimination,” the “individual insurance market is notoriously unstable.” While “some insurance executives expressed surprise at the size and prevalence of the disparities,” others, such as women’s advocacy groups, “have raised concerns about the differences, and members of Congress have begun to question the justification for them.” Still, citing more use of healthcare services among women, “especially in the childbearing years,” insurance companies “say they have a sound reason for charging different premiums.”
This, like a myriad of things that comes out of the New York Times, is INSANE. What’s missing is three simple facts:
1) Women use the doctor more…period. To not take that into account from an actuarial standpoint would be completely and utterly insane. It’s not a civil rights issue that women use the doctor more.
2) Maternity is typically automatic with Group Health Insurance, it’s rarely an option. The last I checked, men are not getting pregnant…at least as far as I know.
3) Women pay less for Life, Long Term Disability, Long-Term Care insurance, Car Insurance…and Men special interest groups, the last time I checked, weren’t lobbying Congress to equalize that playing field.

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