Recently I was having a conversation with a great guy named Dan Johnson-Weinberger about health insurance rates. Dan is one of those people that has great ideas and liberates others thinking.
In our conversation Dan asked me how I felt about women’s health insurance rates being drastically higher then men’s and if I thought it was fair that women had to bear the burden of higher health insurance rates because they had children. My response was something like “Angh, its just how it is and always has been, we are used to it”. Now, if you do not know me very well you might think this response is in line with my usual way of thinking. However, as Executive Director of eWomenNetwork Chicagoland I help women in business feel empowered and help them be as successful as possible through different modalities. I pride myself in being a voice for women equality, success and passion and there I was accepting that women pay over 200% more for their health insurance. While in conversation I had this huge epiphany that I was acting completely jaded and feeding the problem. If women like me accept inequality then we are creating a breading ground for it.
Thomas Jefferson was our third US President and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence has grown in stature over the years, particularly the second sentence, a statement of human writes. Jefferson wrote:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equally, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Now mind you the statement does say men, but I think we all know Jefferson is using the term Men as People meaning everyone. I am sure we all agree that equality is not something we have achieved in our nation. It is something we all strive for, but if we continue to participate in activities that breed inequality we are part of the problem and not being the change we want to see in our communities.
Today I am taking a stance! As an insurance agent, the owner of an insurance agency, The Insurance People, I work in the system that creates these inequalities. We have to be done with this. We have to rise above these inequalities and say no more, not now and not ever. I know a few women that have gotten pregnant on their own, but the vast majority of women get pregnant because it takes 2 to tango. If it takes 2 to make a baby why should women have to pay for it. Why are our rates so much higher? Why should rates not be based on age and zip code only instead of age, zip and sex?
Everything is more for women from shaving cream to health insurance. How could a system that is created to protect people against risk put the burden of pricing on the backs of women. Let’s go big and fight this inequality. By women for women to create equality in health insurance. It is time to stand up and ask for equality. I have always known there is power in numbers. Statistics show there are more women then men in the US so naturally we have the upper hand in fighting for our rights.
The 19th Amendment was drafted and introduced in 1878 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It took 41 years for the amendment to be submitted. It was in 1919 that Congress submitted the amendment to the states for ratification. A year later, it was ratified by the requisite number of states, with Tennessee’s ratification being the final vote needed to add the amendment to the Constitution. It took 2 women to stand up and say no more, not now and not ever. Today we have the right to vote because these women took a stance and held to it until ratification. Today there are many inequalities for women, and together we can create change and help one another be successful in a more equal and prudent nation.
How can you help?
1. Call your local legislator. If you do not know who your legislator is, ask, and I will help you.
2. Be the voice of reason. Tell your friends and family and ask for their support.
3. Write to your carrier. If you have health insurance contact your carrier and ask them to change this. Tell them it is not fair and you want it changed.
Right on! I actually wasn’t aware of this issue since I have a family health plan. I would be interested in learning more and looking at ways to formalize a letter writing campaign about this issue.
Thanks Go to Pro Gals for once again enlightening me on an important and relevant life topic!
I couldn’t agree more! I we, as women, if we are complacent, how will things ever change? Speak up! I’m a mother of three daughters and I want to teach my daughters to have a voice in what they are passionate about.