DENVER—State senators rejected a bill Monday that would have barred health insurers from discriminating against women in setting prices.
At issue was how much insurers can charge people who buy their own health insurance, not people who get their insurance through their employer.
Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said women are routinely charged 30 to 50 percent more for such plans even though they don’t include any maternity coverage. She said her proposal (House Bill 1224) still would have allowed insurers to charge women or men more if they used more health care services. But she said women shouldn’t automatically be charged more.
Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, was one of four Democrats who sided with Republicans in defeating Carroll’s version of the bill. She said the issue is more complicated and that some states that have tried to outright ban the consideration of gender in pricing have ended up driving up rates and pricing some people out of health insurance.
Veiga said one possibility was allowing gender to be considered in setting rates but within smaller ranges than it currently is. She said that way, insurers could also take into account the cost of covering older men, who typically need more treatment than older women.
Senators did back a version of the measure calling for a study of the issue.
