[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DISCRIMINATORY INSURANCE PRACTICES

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, this week the National Women's Law Center 
issued a report, an online survey of insurance brokers across the 
country; and what they found is something that every woman who owns a 
small business or tries to buy a policy on the individual market knows, 
which is that 90 percent of the best selling insurance plans charge 
women more than men simply because of the fact that they are women. 
This is a fact which is not denied by any of the major insurers--Blue 
Cross, WellPoint, Humana--which were all interviewed in a story in The 
New York Times a few days ago on this issue. This is not a debating 
point; this is a fact.
  In addition to higher costs, many insurance companies in some 
jurisdictions around this country deny women coverage entirely because 
of conditions which are characteristic of women, which is breast or 
cervical cancer, pregnancy, having a C-section, or even being a victim 
of domestic violence. As I said earlier, the Affordable Care Act will 
abolish all of these barbaric discriminatory practices starting in 
2014.
  We are going to hear a lot of hooting and hollering this week about 
repealing ObamaCare, but those people who say that should look women in 
the eye in this country and tell them what you are going to do to end 
these discriminatory practices. The fact of the matter is they have no 
answer.
  It is time to stand up for this act.

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