Duong Ly
Last week, we
learned about international health and global health. At first glance, these two
terms are very similar to each other, but in reality, they are very different
from each other. International health is the concern on behalf of the global
north (the developed countries) with the health of the global south (the
developing countries). International health is works between nations while
global health transcends national boundaries; it deals with issues at the
individual levels. One of a major health care issues that happening is women
being treated differently by their health care providers. This issue not only
happens in the developing countries like African countries, South East Asia
countries, but it also happens in the countries in North America, where gender
equality has been achieved a long time ago. Because women are still being
treated differently by their health care providers in countries that have gender
equality, this issue can happen everywhere in the world. It is a worldwide
problem that has been going on for decades. International health doesn't put a
strong emphasis on providing adequate health care to women, and abolishing
gender discrimination in health care services. Global health protects the
health care benefit of women because it focuses on improving health and
achieving equity in health for all people in the world. In order to understand more about the
discrimination against women in health care services, we need to look at the
cause and the effect that the problem causes on health care of women.
First, we need to look at the
cause of the issue. Gender inequality happened in the past and is still
happening in many parts of the world. Male were viewed as the stronger,
dominant sex while females were viewed as the weaker sex. In the past, men were
the ones who were allowed to work, enjoyed all the healthcare benefit while
women had to stay at home taking care of the house. Because men were the one
who made the money, they controlled all the power and made most of the
decisions in the house. The gender equality movement occurred in the late 19th century in the United States. Women fought for their rights and wanted to be
equal to men. Today, even gender equality has been fought for, gender inequality
still happens. With the same level of education and experience, men still get
paid more for the same job than women. Married women, with the same level of
education and experience as married men, are less likely to get the job because
during pregnancy, women need to quit their jobs temporarily. Most of the major
political positions are still being held by men. There's always a glass ceiling
effect which prevents women from getting prestigious positions in a company or
organization. This has proved that gender inequality has not been completely
erased in the United States and in many parts of the world. Women are still
having a disadvantage in many aspects. One of the aspects is health care. Women
are the primary target of being discriminated by their health care providers.
According to CNN, there is a discriminatory practice
of insurance providers called as “gender rating”. All the best selling
insurance plans charge women more than men for the same amount of coverage.
Surprisingly, most of those insurance plans do not cover maternity services and
they have to pay thousands of dollars in premiums if they want to include
maternity services in their plans. The distressing evidence regarding the very
high price being paid by women across the globe, as a consequence of
dysfunctional health systems and the neglect of social determinants, is analyzed
in the context of the persistence of very high levels of maternal mortality in
different parts of the world (Global
Health Watch 3 p.2). Women are
forced to pay high prices for health care services, which results in many of
them not receiving adequate health care benefits. It causes a rise in the rate
of maternal mortality. This is a strong signal that we need to do something to
change the existing condition, and stop the gender rating practices.
In
this picture, the lady in the middle is wearing a shirt with the words “a
woman is not a pre-existing condition” printed in front of it. This message
implies that many health care insurance providers require women to pay extra
amount for the same coverage as men. Being a women means that you have to pay
extra for health insurance, just like having a pre-existing condition. Many women,
who couldn't afford the extra premium price, end up not having health
insurance. It contributes to the increase in maternal mortality rate. This is a
totally wrong and unreasonable practice that is still happening in many states.
Standing next to her are two girls with their back facing toward the camera,
they show the back of the shirts. In the back of the shirt, it said “demand
health reform”. It's a message for everyone out there to fight for a health
reform to stop the discrimination against women. The picture tells us the
gender inequality existing in our health care system and asks for a health
reform.
“In
addition, I'll be attending women's health expos and medical conferences with
the goal to promote dialogue between women and their health-care providers.” It
is a quote from Karen Duffy, an American model and actress. She said it because
in the past, women had a lot of difficulty dealing with the insurance providers.
The point of her quote and the picture
trying to tell us is we need to fight against gender inequality in health care.
The quote from the reading tells us that gender inequality gives women a big
disadvantage in receiving adequate health care.
Overall,
we need to realize that gender inequality in health care is still happening in
today society and we need to take action to stop it.
CitationGreenberger, Marcia. "Stop sex discrimination in health plan costs." CNN. N.p., 20 03 2012. Web. 3 Oct 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/20/opinion/greenberger-health-premiums-gender-gap/index.html>.
Image: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120320120743-greenberger-women-s-health-story-top.jpg
Quote from book: Global Health Watch 3 page 3
Quote out of class: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/karenduffy225611.html
The points that Duong raises are 100% true. Sex and gender discrimination are definitely rampant in all aspects of society, especially when it comes to healthcare. It’s not just women that are being treated differently; it’s all people who do not fit within society’s view of acceptable genders, i.e. transgender and other gender variant people. I totally agree with Duong’s point that health care systems need to change to be equitable to people who are assigned female at birth. However, reproductive rights are not the only problems that female-assigned-at-birth (FAAB) people face. Nor does misogyny, medical or otherwise, only affect FAAB people. Conflating two facets of identity, sex and gender, oversimplifies solutions and identities as one dimensional. Duong mentions that a major health care issue is people who are FAAB being treated differently by their health care providers. This is very true. This is frustrating too because as Americans with economic privilege and power, we like to think that we are a very progressive country and that other places are so barbaric and backwards for their ways of thinking. In reality, how fundamentally different are we from the countries that we pity and look down upon? Duong touches on this. Some people like to think that gender equality, de jure, has been achieved. In my opinion, this is false. By gender, the law usually means sex, and equality is a long ways away on both fronts. People who are assigned female still do not have complete autonomy over their bodies and people who do not fit with their sex assigned at birth have a slew of legal, social, health, and economic systems that are designed to oppress them.
ReplyDeleteThis discrimination happens worldwide. Gender and sex inequality and lack of access to healthcare because of those inequalities can happen anywhere in the world, regardless of what America does. Yes, it is true that America is an influential power socially and economically. However, it is a real reflection on post-colonialism to think that other countries cannot have functioning systems of equitable healthcare just because America doesn’t. I also strongly agree with Duong’s point about international health. Sometimes, bureaucracy makes it hard to make change, good or bad, when it comes to a marginalized group. Therefore, it leads into interstate networks that do not emphasize gender and sex equality. I also agree with Duong’s comment about global health. However, I feel that global health protecting women is an idealization. It is not necessarily true.
Duong’s point about education and income vs. genders was also an excellent point. The fact that people with uteruses are still discriminated against in hiring practices, even though it is technically illegal in some parts of America, is frustrating. In the world of global and international health, especially so. This is because there is an implied assumption that all FAAB people will chose to or are expected to have children. There are so many double standards around this. On the one hand, as an adult, people are expected to be productive and economically fit members of society. Women especially are subject to being perceived as dumb and lazy, even if they have an education, if they can’t find work. However, when women do find work, their economic value is always questioned because employers don’t want people to get pregnant on the job. Which leads into double standard #2: women are supposed to get pregnant and have children. Not only are some women incapable of having children, some don’t want any. So, a woman is devalued if she can’t work but not worth enough to hire in the first place. That being said, I thought it was interesting that Duong focused on high maternal mortality rates in regards to healthcare and not autonomy of the FAAB body in general.
The main theme of your blog entry was discrimination against women by health services and practitioners. You said, “This issue not only happens in the developing countries like African countries, South East Asia countries, but it also happens in the countries in North America, where gender equality has been achieved a long time ago… women are still being treated differently by their health care providers in countries that have gender equality…” You believe that we must study the history of gender inequality throughout the globe in order to understand the current status of female healthcare discrimination. The historical role of women throughout many cultures was the homemaker. Women did not work and earn money, and were thus excluded from making head-of-household decisions. Sexism has persisted in the United States even after the women’s movement of the sixties and the suffragette movement of the twenties. These pre-existing notions about women and what women’s role in society should be contribute to the discrimination of females in healthcare. “Gender rating” allow premium insurance companies to charge women more than men for the same health coverage. The majority of these plans do not include maternal care, so women have to pay extra for these premiums. The high rate of mother fatality throughout the globe is an indicator of gender inequality. Healthcare coverage discrimination based on gender thus persists in countries across nations – those with and without gender equality.
ReplyDeleteWhen I began reading this blog entry, I was skeptical about the contents. I was thinking, “Where is the proof?” But I was surprised when you did offer me proof. “Gender rating” by insurance companies is unfair and unethical. By not providing maternal coverage, these companies are putting women, and children by default, at a disadvantage. Why would insurance companies do this though? I do not agree with the idea that sexism alone is the leading proponent of why this divide exists. Although women have been discriminated against historically, female health has also been specialized through fields such as gynecology and obstetrics. I also think that the high rate of maternal mortality worldwide stems from lack of hygiene and nutrition, not just sexism alone. Women are not alone in being discriminated against by insurance companies. Car insurance companies charge men more per month than women, since men have been deemed riskier drivers. Perhaps women have been deemed more expensive to upkeep medically, and this reasoning has translated into why females pay a higher health insurance premium. One inconsistency in your blog entry was your idea of nations with “gender equality.” You refer to the United States as having achieved this equilibrium in one sentence, but then go on to say that men are still paid more than women for the same job. You contradict yourself. Is there any way of judging which nations are more equal in providing rights to women? By using indicators such as the right to vote, education opportunities, and birth control accessibility, we are judging countries based on “western” perspectives of gender equality. Therefore, I do not agree with the idea that healthcare discrimination against females is based entirely on sexism; rather, it is a contributing factor to various reasons for insurance “gender rating.”
Blog Comment #2
ReplyDeleteMen and women are not treated equally in terms of national and international health. This malpractice has continued for as long as healthcare has existed and affects women in virtually every country, developed and developing. There is no global north and south distinction considering this matter. Society and culture induced inequality persists even in democratic countries that have legally mandated equal rights for all inhabiting citizens such as the United States. Duong addresses that gender discrimination is present in the workforce and family, but he pinpoints on the glaring inequality within our healthcare system. It is a fact that many insurance providers charge women a substantial amount more than man for same amount of health care coverage. In return, the healthcare that women are receiving does not adequately provide and secure women’s health. Lack of coverage regarding maternal care is one area of major concern. Duong’s point of view is that the problem of gender inequality is morally unfair and wrong. It needs to take a higher precedence on the agenda of global health actors and sufficient means need to be taken in order to stop it. One proposal of action was for women to demand healthcare reform that would level quality and cost of healthcare between genders.
Prior to reading this blog, I was oblivious to the fact that gender inequality exists in healthcare. Of course I am aware of specific norms and naturally assigned gender roles that shape our society, however I was appalled by the data I found when I did some research. One article of the New York Times reads: “for a popular Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in Chicago, a 30-year-old woman pays $375 a month, which is 31 percent more than what a man of the same age pays for the same coverage, according to eHealthInsurance.com, a leading online source of health insurance.” A thirty-one percent difference in cost is by all means, substantial, and all for the exact same coverage. Frankly, this isn’t even the worst of the cases; some companies charge an additional fifty percent for women’s coverage versus men’s. The article notes that the gender gap in the cost of health care is persisting since no measures are being taken to stop it. Private healthcare providers are in complete control of the price they charge for their services, and for all we know, to them this a business, with people as their market, so in a sole business perspective, they are profiting from the extra income.
I agree with Duong’s points wholly. Inequality in healthcare is unjust and wrong. It is an issue concerning international health. I also agree that health care reform is needed. There are many aspects that build up to become the gender gap, so major reform will be needed in order to fully stop this injustice. The health care reform starting in 2014 is a step forward; however change needs to happen legislatively as well as socially and culturally. Fair healthcare will improve the lives and health of women all over the world, increasing global health altogether.
Cited: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/health/policy/women-still-pay-more-for-health-insurance-data-shows.html?_r=1
Ann Lee
The idea of gender inequality is not a new concept. Women have historically received differential treatment in regards to employment, property ownership, religion and military service. So of course, when Duong Ly mentioned that women do not receive adequate healthcare coverage in relation to their male counterparts, I was not surprised. However, it is important to note that both men and women have different needs in regards to healthcare. In the news today, the issue of contraceptive coverage in healthcare has defined many political debates and influenced the voter’s perception on just who may become the president for the next four years. This issue is critical and woefully neglected. In the article, Ly explains that “International health doesn't put a strong emphasis on providing adequate health care to women, and abolishing gender discrimination in health care services. Global health protects the health care benefit of women because it focuses on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people in the world”, this idea that healthcare politics at a structural level doesn’t make equal healthcare a priority is disconcerting. Although it is true to consider that men and women pay different premiums, it is also important to note that they also have different medical needs Ly explains that the “gender gap” persists due to maternity services not being included in many private insurance plans.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Ly explains this idea of a gender gap in relation to medical coverage and insurance premiums between the sexes. Women pay higher insurance premiums simply because they require much more from medicine. Contraceptives and medical coverage that will cover pregnancy related concerns are added on top of the coverage that a man would require, the standard. Does this justify a woman’s higher medical bill? My answer is no, insurance coverage should include maternity costs but the sad reality is that many private insurances being offered do not factor it into the cost. Toward the end of the article, Ly explains that there is a need to stand up and fight gender inequality in healthcare. As a woman, I would say that this is a noble undertaking that should be at the forefront of the political debate. But as an objective person, I see the additional coverage needed by women and from a fiscal point, I guess you could argue that women tend to need more medical attention.
Throughout history, we’ve seen the image of the perfect mother who sacrifices everything to ensure that their children live in a happy home; this means they will downplay injuries, work around the familys schedule and in the case of conflict, they will not attend doctors appointments. As women increasingly become the breadwinners of the family, inadequate coverage will extend to become a family values issue, reproductive issue, and also an economic crises.