Equality For Health Coverage

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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A theory is always a wonderful thing. Everyone can look at it and admire it. Except, when it comes to applying it, people can suddenly realize that theories don't always work so well in the real world. Here we are with one of those swings and roundabouts situations. Ask any insurer and, when it comes to driving, they will all sing the same tune. Women drivers are the safest on the roads. That means they earn the maximum discounts and generally have the lowest premium rates. But, when it comes to health, all the statistical evidence is reversed. Women are the first through the doors of their regular healthcare provider's door, they make the highest demands on hospital time and have more drugs prescribed to them (although whether they take them all is a different question). So how should equality work when it comes to insurance? More importantly, should there be laws requiring insurers to avoid discrimination on the ground of sex?

Well, let's start with the theory of insurance. We gather a group of people, all of whom face the same risks, and we share the cost of all the losses among all the members of the group. Since ...
... not everyone suffers a loss, this works out cheaper for everyone. So, if we group all drivers together, the good drivers who never get into an accident subsidize the bad drivers. Hmmm. Well, that doesn't seem very fair does it? If people have no price incentive to drive well, why should they bother? Or, if the price of insurance keeps going up, does this not encourage bad drivers to improve? So the theory breaks down in practice because, although we want to spread the cost of the losses around the group, we do want to use price to influence driving behavior. That means women drivers pay less than men. When it comes to health, the same reasoning applies to justify men paying significantly less than women. Men never complain about their health unless the pain is too much to ignore. Fewer claims means lower premiums.

Now let's go over to California where, as from January 2011, insurers can no longer discriminate on health insurance. Men and women should pay the same. In fact, this is jumping the gun a little. This is a part of Obamacare for the whole country as from 2014. California just wants to be first in line. Anyway, no matter what the politics of this, if there must be equality, this is great for women. Overnight, all their premiums will fall. But the men will now find all their premiums rising to cover the cost of treating their women. Needless to say, Californian men are not exactly jumping up and down with joy.

So, those of you who live in the slow lane must carry on trawling through those health insurance quotes to find the best deal. Women in California can celebrate. You've suddenly got relatively cheap health insurance just because you deserve it. Men in California get to pay the bills which, like men everywhere, is what they do. Breadwinners of the world unite. You have only your women to support.