Being a woman is NOT a pre-existing condition

Women pay up to 48% more for private health insurance than men for the same policies. This is known as "gender rating," a policy by which health insurers charge women higher premiums - and it's legal in most states. Insurers also routinely deny coverage to women with "pre-existing conditions" - which include pregnancy, c-sections, and in some cases, domestic violence. 

Over the past few weeks, we've been covering gender discrimination in our health care system on our blog. Now it's time to get the word out on Capitol Hill. Join us this week for two actions designed to pressure Congress to make these practices illegal - once and for all. 

Wednesday: Women wearing "I am not a pre-existing condition" t-shirts will be flyering on Capitol Hill at 12pm ET in order to educate Hill staffers about women's health issues. We'll meet at 12pm outside the Capitol South metro stop. Afterward, a smaller delegation will pay a visit to Senator Jon Kyl's office to discuss his position on maternity care.

 Thursday: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on women's health care at 10:30 am. To show our support for the Committee's work on this issue, we'll be attending the hearings in our "I am not a pre-existing condition" t-shirts. We'll send out more details about this action on Wednesday.