Here’s an update to an earlier post we did about insurance companies discriminating against domestic violence survivors. The health care reform bill that recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives has a clause that prohibits this type of discrimination.
We also found an interesting blog post at Womenstake.org about people are taking action in states where there are no laws that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to domestic violence survivors:
Five of the 8 jurisdictions that do not explicitly prohibit health insurance discrimination based on domestic violence have made efforts to address this problem:
* In October 2009, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking issued a bulletin warning insurers not to use domestic violence as a factor when issuing health insurance policies.
* In September 2009, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chancy called upon the state legislature to take action banning discrimination against survivors of domestic violence.* In North Carolina, Insurance Commissioner, Wayne Goodwin, stated that he will ask the legislature to clarify current state law and that he will implement new administrative rules to prohibit insurers from discriminating against domestic violence survivors in the individual market. North Carolina state law already prohibits such discrimination in group plans.
* In North Dakota, Insurance Commissioner, Adam Hamm and Governor John Hoeven are currently working to change the present policy in their state.
* Finally, in Oklahoma, state Senator Jim Wilson intends to introduce SB 1251, which would prohibit any insurance plan issued or renewed on or after November 1, 2010, from considering domestic abuse as a pre-existing condition.
* It is also noteworthy that, In April 2009, Arkansas passed a law expressly prohibiting health insurance companies from using a woman’s status as a domestic violence to deny coverage.
The original Womenstake.org blog post also posted a helpful link for you to contact your congressional representative.
