I've thought now for a long time that what is good for women, is good for men. And what is bad for men, is also bad for women. In general, of course. The point being that this is not a zero-sum game, and we as genders are neither at war nor in competition for health, happiness, and success.
I understand the math behind this, of course. Just as I understand why young women are charged less for car insurance than young men. But health insurance is fundamentally different--a health problem can financially cripple someone, forever. And yes, womens' health issue are more complex than mens'. But how sad is it that we reduce this fundamental human issue to one of statistics, relegating it to the same status as a 16-year-old's insurance for an automobile's learner permit?
This is the issue that the Supreme Court is about to decide. And sadly, they will probably decide it against the ACA. Maybe not, but I don't hold out much hope.
I hope that I can live to see a day when men and women are truly treated equally under the law in the USA. We are clearly not anywhere near that point yet.
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I don't think the Supreme Court will uphold the ACA, sadly. I am a woman with a pre-existing condition, so double whammy there. (If I got my tubes tied would it lower my premium since I wouldn't be having kids? Real questions being asked 'round these parts.) I do feel like women in the US are backsliding through no fault of their own (and often with help from other women in positions of power!!), and it's kind of frightening to see. I am sad for us at the moment. Thanks for writing about it.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Katie. You know far more than I do about being in the insurance/health care system. And I agree that womens' health rights are backsliding for some crazy reason, and I could rant about that in an entirely different post.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, health insurance...
I could say that this doesn't directly affect me, but it does. I have a mother, I have sisters, I have scores of female friends. From that standpoint alone I'm outraged. But extrapolating that to the whole population of the USA, which is by majority women, it becomes a travesty. Why are we not just instinctively protecting the health of the bulk of our population?