Gender Rating in Health Insurance (H 7177, S 2221A)

In April, the Senate for the second year in a row approved legislation barring health insurance companies from using gender as a factor in setting premiums.  Nationwide, women have historically been charged more for the same health insurance as men, solely because of their gender, leaving women less able to purchase vital health care coverage.  This practice became illegal for certain health care plans under recent federal law, but gaps still exist in Rhode Island law that allow the practice to continue. This legislation aimed to close those gaps and ensure that gender rating cannot occur in Rhode Island regardless of any changes to federal law. The ACLU provided testimony in February, but the bill once again did not receive a vote in the House.