[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3852-3853]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          HEALTH CARE REFORM IS CRITICAL FOR WOMEN IN AMERICA

  (Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, the need for health care reform is critical 
for so many in America, but for women, the need is even greater. With 
health care costs weighing heavily on our small businesses, and with 
women more likely to own or work for small businesses, it's critical 
that real reform help those businesses compete by lowering health care 
costs.
  In Nevada, insurers are allowed to consider gender when setting 
premium rates in the individual health insurance market. And as a 
result of this gender rating, women are often charged more than men for 
the exact same coverage.
  Insurers can also exclude coverage for certain preexisting 
conditions, such as having had a C-section and even being pregnant. And 
it can be difficult, sometimes impossible in certain markets for women 
to find coverage for maternity care in the individual health market.
  I say it's time to tell insurance companies that being a woman is not 
a preexisting condition.

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