Look around you. Check the number of jobs advertised in your local newspaper and the size of local food banks. That should scare you into delving into this complex topic feet first, if nothing else does.
Not only do the employed have to participate in this debate, but women need to voice their opinions.
Here’s why, according to registered nurse and attorney Jaci Mairs of Kansas City:
1. In general, women have greater health needs than men.
2. Many insurance companies charge women more than men for the same level of insurance.
3. A greater percentage of women work part time than men, so they lack benefits.
To make matters worse, Mairs says, "the majority of individual insurance policies exclude coverage for child-bearing, and many exclude pap smears and mammograms, major reasons women need health-care coverage."
Click here for the full op-ed in the Kansas City Star.
AND, an economics blog on newyorktimes.com echoed the alarm, with this statement:
"In striking testimony to financial vulnerability, more than one-half of all bankruptcies related to medical costs in the United States in 2007 were filed by female-headed households."
See that entire opinion piece here.