Banning Gender Rating in Health Insurance (H 5243, S 0201A)

In February, the ACLU of RI testified before the House Corporations committee in favor of legislation barring health insurance companies from using gender as a factor in setting premiums.  A similar hearing followed in the Senate Health and Human Services committee in March. Nationwide, women are generally charged more for the same health insurance as men, solely because of their gender; as a result, women are disproportionately less able to purchase vital health care coverage. While this practice will become illegal for certain health care plans under federal law beginning in 2014, ACLU of RI-drafted legislation sought to eliminate the practice across the board in Rhode Island. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously in May, but the bill never received a vote in the House.