Bills in Five States To Stop Insurance

What Insurers Can’t Do Under New State Domestic Violence Bills

• Deny a claim based on domestic violence.
• Request or disclose personal information about domestic violence.
• Deny current coverage or renewal of coverage based on domestic violence.
• Restrict coverage or charge higher premiums due to domestic violence.
• Terminate coverage granted through the abuser’s insurance plan.

Discrimination Against Domestic Violence Victims

Legislators in five states – California, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico and Washington – introduced bills on January 30 that will prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against survivors of domestic violence. Four of the seven legislators sponsoring the measures are CPA Flemming Fellows.

The bills would make it unlawful for insurance companies to use medical reports, medical databases, public court documents and credit reports to identify victims of domestic violence and then deny, limit or set charges based on victims’ increased health risks. They also provide civil penalties for violators of these standards.

As of 1994, eight of the sixteen largest insurers in the country were using domestic violence as a factor in making decisions such as whether to issue insurance coverage and how much to charge for it, according to a recent report compiled by the Women’s Law Project and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Half of the insurers responding to a 1996 llinois Department of Insurance survey reported favoring use of such criteria.

CPA coordinated the multi-state introduction of the bills. The bills were introduced by:

• Assemblywoman Grace Napolitano, California. (916-445-0965)
• Senator Connie Stokes, Georgia. (404-593-3999)
• RRepresentative Carol Ronen, Illinois. (773-769-1717)
• Representative Mimi Stewart, New Mexico. (505-986-4211)
• Representative Cathy Wolfe, primary sponsor, Washington. (360-786-7992)
• Representative Dawn Mason, co-sponsor, Washington. (360-786-7944)
• Representative Eileen Cody, co-sponsor, Washington. (360-786-7978)

CPA President and CEO Linda Tarr-Whelan called the initiative “an innovative approach by women legislators across the country to raise visibility and take action to correct an unacceptable practice.”

During a time when health care and insurance reforms are on the front-burner of the national agenda, to allow such a practice to continue is intolerable, Tarr-Whelan noted.

Between 2 and 4 million women per year are subjected to physical violence, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women subjected to violence by intimates or partners account for 30 percent of visits to emergency rooms and 1.4 million doctor visits each year.

“Women will no longer be forced to make the terrible choice between silently staying with an abuser or losing medical or life insurance,” said New Mexico Representative Stewart.

Under all the state legislation proposed, civil penalties and fines may be imposed on insurers who violate the law. In Illinois and New Mexico, the legislation also provides for criminal penalties for willful discrimination against a victim.

For further information on the bills, contact Anne Mosle at CPA, 202-956-5127, or the individual legislators listed earlier in this article.