Health Care For America Now

There are a lot of reasons the free market doesn't really work when it comes to health care. Here's a biggie:

Striking new evidence has emerged of a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage, according to new data from insurance companies and online brokers.

Some insurance executives expressed surprise at the size and prevalence of the disparities, which can make a woman’s insurance cost hundreds of dollars a year more than a man’s. Women’s advocacy groups have raised concerns about the differences, and members of Congress have begun to question the justification for them.

The new findings, which are not easily explained away, come amid anxiety about the declining economy. More and more people are shopping for individual health insurance policies because they have lost jobs that provided coverage. Politicians of both parties have offered proposals that would expand the role of the individual market, giving people tax credits or other assistance to buy coverage on their own.

“Women often fare worse than men in the individual insurance market,” said Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Finance Committee.

Insurers say they have a sound reason for charging different premiums: Women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost more than men because they typically use more health care, especially in the childbearing years.

But women still pay more than men for insurance that does not cover maternity care. In the individual market, maternity coverage may be offered as an optional benefit, or rider, for a hefty additional premium.

From a free market perspective, this makes sense, right? Women use more health care, so they get charged more for insurance. Supply and demand. Except that it's profoundly unequal and un-American.

America is great because we do believe in the free market as a force for good in society. By and large, we allow our businesses and our citizens to make their own economic decisions. But we also believe that people shouldn't be punished for the so-called accidents of their birth. Just because someone is born poor, a minority, or a woman doesn't mean they shouldn't have the same opportunities as privileged white males in our society. That's what equality in America is all about.

And so, we rightly recognize that sometimes, the free market works to promote inequality instead of right it, and in those cases, we recognize that limits and controls on the free market are necessary to preserve the greater good of equality. So, in American, we put human rights over profit making.

Or at least we should. Women should not have to pay more for health insurance simply because they are women. Equality demands that men and women pay similar amounts to preserve their health. And the same goes for low income folks and minorities.