rape as a pre-existing condition

[rm]

Do I need to say this is about to be triggery as hell?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/insurance-companies-rape-_n_328708.html

Scenario 1: Woman is raped. Almost two decades go by. She is raped again. When she tries to get coverage for health services related to the rape, her claims are denied because her first rape made her second rape a pre-existing condition.

Scenario 2: Woman is raped. Woman takes HIV drugs as a precautionary measure. Woman is now uninsurable in most cases. If she is able to get or maintain insurance she most likely would not be covered should she contract AIDS or any STD in the future.

Just so we're clear, these scenarios (which have really happened to non-hypothetical, non-fictitious women) are more than barbaric. They both brand women as responsible for their rapes and therefore not entitled to care related to their sexual and emotional selves -- that's only for insurance-defined "good girls" apparently.

Pissed off yet? Well, wait, because there's more, because a host of other scenarios like this are out there (check out the comments to this post, which include "domestic violence as a pre-existing condition" and a woman who was inseminated so she could have kids with her female partner being denied health insurance on the grounds of the infertility she didn't have), and if they haven't happened yet, they probably will soon.

Here's the deal about health insurance and being female: Being female is effectively considered a disease by insurers, despite the fact that women have much longer life expectancies than men. Women are also dealt with as children who are incapable of making informed decisions about their own bodies; whether it's birth control, abortion or pregnancy-related services, insurers will tell you over and over again that they know better than you or your doctor.

Choosing to have an abortion? May not be covered if it's not "medically necessary" and what's "medically necessary" isn't decided by you or your doctor, but by your insurance company. If mental health is a factor, forget about it (I've seen this one in action repeatedly). My abortion was part of the RU486 trial, and I still had to pay $400 for it (about ten years ago); it was not covered by insurance.

Want birth control? It'll probably cost you more than Viagra or similar medications on many insurance plans. A man has a right to fuck, but a woman doesn't have the same right to not get pregnant, apparently. (Once again, see comments -- this may or may not now actually be less fucked than I remember it being; it's been a long time since I was on oral birth control and I know regulations on insurance companies regarding this has changed since that time -- people's experiences with this seem to vary, but there's still definitely a problem on at least some plans or in some regions).

Have you decided to be child-free? Well, that's nice, but chances are there's no way for you to decline coverage for pregnancy related services (even if you've had your tubes tied), because as a woman, you apparently don't really know what you want and are likely to change your mind (and hey, you might get raped!). And if you want a medical procedure to ensure your child-free status? As one commenter notes, good luck. Odds are your insurance plan will cover a vasectomy, but as a woman? Sorry, no procedures for you! Why? Well, you could change your mind.

Having a baby? Well, if you've had a c-section before, your insurance company is going to tell you, you have to have one again, even if you and your doctor are comfortable with you trying for a VBAC. That is if they don't, as noted in the comments, just quit insuring you altogether.

Need a mammogram before age 40 because of a family history of breast cancer? Well, most insurers will make you wait even if breast cancer killed one of your relatives at age 39. Maybe, if you're really lucky, you'll figure out how to get seen at a free-screening clinic in a low-income neighborhood -- if it exists, if you're eligible, and if doing that won't cause anything breast health related to be termed a pre-existing condition and be not covered by your insurance forever more. That's right, if you have a family history of breast cancer, you may not be able to afford to have the screenings that could save your life -- even if you are insured!

The bias in all this is exhausting, but so is the lip-service paid to women's equality by executives and politicians who think this is all just fine. Fuck you. Come out and say it. We're children and chattel to you. And if we're very good and beg hard enough and don't get raped, maybe, just maybe you'll insure us and then we can be worth some cash too.

Comments

[sykii.livejournal.com]

Don't forget making sure we don't get abused by intimate partners either, since domestic violence is also a pre-existing condition (yes I said this on Tsarina's version of this post, but not everyone knows, and everyone should).

[rm.livejournal.com]

Right! God, I forgot about that. What was that? A week ago? This shit is fast and furiously fucked!

[julesndairyland.livejournal.com]

As always you are so eloquent.

I, on the other hand, usually start cussing and throwing obscene gestures.

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, that I did not know about.

And doctors are required to ask if they see signs of abuse, too. Now that I have my iron (mostly) under control, I don't look like an assault victim, but I frequently used to get Concerned Healthcare Practitioner questions all the time.... (Never been abused, apart from an acquaintance rape.)

[affreca.livejournal.com]

Also, for some plans you have to get extra insurance to cover pregnancy (up to a year before you get pregnant), and still cost more than men's insurance.

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

This is why, for all its faults, I still heart the NHS.

[firefly124.livejournal.com]

That is so far beyond fucked up that I just don't even have words for it.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Speaking of reproductive coverage, some friends of mine (M&K) had twin boys a few years back and soon thereafter M switched jobs to one that doesn't offer domestic partner benefits. This made her partner K uninsured.

They assumed they could purchase independent insurance for K, but she was denied because she'd had to have fertility treatments to get pregnant with the boys. She tried to explain that she was not infertile, it's just that her partner didn't have a dick and so she needed to be inseminated. She explained that she wasn't planning on having any more kids and that they did not have to cover fertility treatments of any kind for her. No luck. She wasn't covered for nearly two years.

[phaetonschariot.livejournal.com]

One of the comments on that article said that the poster's mother had asked her doctor if she should do anything to prevent osteoporosis as she got older. Then she got denied for health insurance for pre-existing condition, because apparantly saying osteoporosis is the same as having it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

There's a reason I'm only "presumed-celiac" other than I think the testing is barbaric and unnecessary (since there's no treatment but the diet), and that's because I'm better off in the curent climate if it's "all in my head."

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

You forgot to mention that if we've opted to be child free we also don't have the right to take any kind of measure to ensure that we remain that way. I am ineligible for a hysterectomy even though I'm infertile and have absolutely NO chance of natural conception because I've never had a child. I am also too young (when I began this argument I was 28) to decide that I do not want a child because "I might change my mind some day."

[rm.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaaaargh! I didn't know this, although it should have occurred to me.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Added to the initial post.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Christ. Added to initial post.

[sethg]

When I read this essay on the wonderful life of the high-end prostitute, one of the thoughts that went through my head was "she's uninsurable on the individual market, right? If they'll use domestic violence as an excuse for refusing to insure someone, they surely would do the same for a former prostitute, even one who was disease-free and had never been assaulted..."

[contrarywise]

I have no words.

[sethg]

(for "wonderful" above, of course, read "ostensibly wonderful")

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yup. And it's one reason (other than prostitution is illegal in most US jurisdiction) sex-workers can't be out about what they do. And as long as sex-work is illegal and under the table it's more dangerous than it would be otherwise both in terms of on the job hazards the necessity of such secret keeping. If you can't tell your doctor what they need to know to give you good care in order to get care at all, there's a problem.

[bizetsy.livejournal.com]

Yes, and every woman I know who has even tried to get an IUD has been initially turned away for being too young, not having had children already, or both, even if they plan to be child-free, have plenty of room for insertion, etc. A couple have continued to fight for it and have eventually won and gotten the device, but others have been flat out refused.

Re: Viagra vs. Birth Control

[rm.livejournal.com]

I know that the oral birth control thing has changed at some point in the last five years, so it's less fucked up than it used to be. I can't remember if this is on a national or state level though. This is all post my own use of it, so I don't actually have the info active in my head (it was really fucked up when I was on BC -- mine was covered, but that was considered rare, and it did cost me more than other prescriptions, including Viagra), so you may be right that on this score at least the current state of affairs may not be as fucked as I think (thank god!)

I've updated the post to note that things on this score may in fact be less grim than I recall. I expect someone will eventually show up with links. Hopefully there's a little good news in all of this. *sigh*

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

Linked, because A) this deserves to be read and B) I can't add to this.

[kargashina.livejournal.com]

yeah.. the only way they'll generally offer one 'early' is if you have more kids than the doc thinks is ok..

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Do not even start me.

However, I am hoping that the more shit like this and not covering babies for being "too fat" or "too short" is dragged into the light and waved around, the faster we're going to get actual health care reform.

[vichan.livejournal.com]

Jesus. I read this, was appropriately horrified, then clicked on "add comment" and saw your additions and the comments here.

Now I have no fucking words.