City of San Francisco Files Lawsuit Contending State Regulators Allow Discrimination Against Women
On January 27, 2009, the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Insurance (“CDI”) contending that it allows health insurers to discriminate against women when charging premiums for health insurance. The suit alleges that the CDI, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and Cindy Ehnes, director of the Department of Managed Health Care, approved a system that allows the insurance companies to impose "gender rating" when pricing policies, resulting in women paying as much as 39% more for coverage than men. According to a Los Angeles Times article published on January 28, 2009, the CDI allows the practice of charging women more for health insurance than their male counterparts (i.e., “gender rating”) believing this practice to be appropriate under the existing California law.
The CDI was quoted in the article as stating that it will uphold the law, which permits health insurers to engage in gender rating when, among other things, it is based upon “objective, valid and up-to-date statistical and actuarial data.” Insurers have defended the practice of gender rating by pointing to actuarial statistics that show women are more likely to get injured or sick.
