Women Paying More for Health Coverage? – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

According to a recent article in the New York Times, women buying individual health insurance policies are often paying significantly more than men their same age. The Times reviewed data from multiple insurance providers and online brokers and found that women are often paying well over 30 percent (sometimes closer to 50 percent) more in premiums than their male counterparts. For many consumers who have recently lost their job and health benefits, or for those making a switch from employer-sponsored insurance to the individual market for some other reason, it’s important to be aware of these practices.

This doesn’t sit right with me. The National Consumers League, a longtime proponent of health care for all, has long advocated for universal health coverage. In fact, before coming to NCL and serving as our president in 1940, Josephine Roche penned the first national health care bill while working for FDR’s administration. As a champion of economic and social justice for workers and consumers, NCL opposes such discrimination.

One of the main explanations for charging women more than men is that they are using more health services. Yes, women have babies, and giving birth is expensive. But you can’t punish women for that! Indeed, it’s in society’s best interest to see that babies are born healthy and with good prenatal care and that their mothers receive good care as well. The stress of not doing so is bad for the mom and for the baby. Moreover, aside from maternity care, women make better use of preventive health care services, which is exactly what health care experts tell us to do: get the check-ups, the mammograms, and the pap smears.

Studies have shown that investing in prevention can help delay – and even prevent – the onset of many chronic conditions, which account for a significant majority of the health care spending in this country. This is particularly important given that middle-aged women are disproportionately affected by certain chronic conditions such as asthma, obesity, arthritis, and certain cancers.

Many policy makers are speaking out. In both houses of Congress, leaders are asking why and how insurance companies can claim they are meeting the needs of women when the health care coverage is tough to attain, inefficient or incomplete, and more expensive. The Times article also reports that states such as Maine, Montana, and New York are “prohibiting sex-based rates in the individual insurance market.” Earlier this summer, the LA Times questioned insurers’ process for determining risks. We consumers are alarmed to learn that we may be charged more for (or even denied) coverage based on gender, race, or ethnicity.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that there are close to 17 million women (roughly 18 percent of women) who remain uninsured in this country, many of whom cannot obtain insurance because they work part-time or with companies that do not offer insurance. Of the 77 million or so women fortunate enough to have coverage, 6 percent purchase their own coverage, and that is where women end up paying more than men and where their coverage often falls short, (a number likely to rise in these bad economic times), often excluding mental health, family planning, and maternity care services.

We will work with policymakers to fix the unfair treatment women experience in the health insurance marketplace and to see that any additional expense related to maternity and childbirth are costs shared by all of us.

Hill Briefing Exposes Ugly Reality of Child Prostitution – National Consumers League

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By Reid Maki, Child Labor Coalition Coordinator

In the film “Pretty Woman,” Julia Roberts plays a glamorous prostitute whose life doesn’t seem so bad. But the ugly truth about prostitution is that it’s a very dangerous world to inhabit: violence is common and the health risks are grave. The Julia Roberts character seems more or less in control of her life. In reality—I learned at a Capitol Hill briefing October 21—many of the women who enter prostitution are actually young girls forced into the trade by their unscrupulous handlers.

I remember seeing the film “Taxi Driver” when it came out in 1976 and thinking that the 12-year-old prostitute played by Jodie Foster was too young to be realistic. I was wrong. In fact, the average age of girls getting into this profession today is 12 to 14, according to Rachel Lloyd, the founder and executive director of Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS), a New York-based group that is working to end the sexual exploitation and trafficking of young women.

These young prostitutes are often runaways from home who meet adults who coerce and manipulate them into selling their bodies. Rapes, beatings, and drugs are used to force the young people—an estimated 20 to 40 percent are boys—into prostitution. Many are vulnerable because they have been sexual assault victims in their own families. “Incest is boot camp for prostitution,” said Lloyd, quoting a phrase often used by advocates. Many young girls are “thrown away” by their families, struggle to survive on the streets, and turn to the sex trade for the income it provides. They find, however, that much of the money they earn goes to a procurer, or “pimp.”

Shaquana Blount, an outreach worker for GEMS, told the 200 or so audience participants that she fell victim to the industry when she was a teen. She recalled being in a car with a customer and waking up in the hospital with no memory of the terrible beating she survived.

Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) spoke about her efforts to stem sex tours to Asia. She recalled sending one New York City tour operator a letter requesting they desist from advertising sex tours only to have the company post her letter on their Web site and ridicule her efforts.

The police and judicial system often treat child prostitutes as criminals, when they are really victims, said Maloney, who has worked tirelessly to pass laws that fight sex trafficking. New York State recently passed legislation that prevents child sex workers under the age of 16 from being prosecuted and offers them help instead. “This is huge. We’re the first state to pass this legislation,” said Maloney. The bill increases the maximum amount of jail time a customer, or “john,” can get from three months to one year.

Governor Eliot Spitzer signed the bill into law—before he was forced to resign from office after a prostitution scandal.

I started this blog with a film reference. Perhaps I should close it with one. Earlier this year, I saw “Holly,” a drama about the trafficking into prostitution of a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl. I read recently that the inspiration for the film came to its writer and producer Guy Jacobson when he was on a business trip to the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh. “I was walking in the street in the middle of the day and found myself surrounded by a group of about 15 little girls, some as young as 5, who were very aggressively soliciting me for prostitution,” he said.

The film’s star, Ron Livingston, finds the moral dilemma presented by the film pretty clear: “To be cynical, if you want to say America stands for something, and we’re trying to make the world a better place and bring freedom and human rights everywhere, why don’t we start with the 12-year-old girls who are being raped in back alleys? Seems like that would be a good thing to fix.”

Keep out unwanted guests – National Consumers League

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November 1, 2008

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC- Computers have revolutionized the ways we learn, work, shop, pay bills, and communicate with others. But like our homes, our computers contain sensitive and valuable information, so consumers must be careful who they “let in,” warns the National Consumers League. This month, NCL is offering advice for keeping your computer’s security strong and up-to-date in its “2008 Consumer Calendar Tips: Do We Have Tips for You!”

The nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, NCL works to educate people about how to make wise decisions in today’s marketplace. Each month, NCL’s Web site, www.nclnet.org, will feature the calendar and tips for the month. Covering a range of subjects from medication safety, to avoiding scams, the tips are sponsored by major companies, government agencies, and organizations. The November tips about keeping out unwanted guests were sponsored by AOL. This month’s tips offer advice and information about security tools including firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and patches.

The print version of the calendar was distributed to consumers free of charge through agencies and organizations around the country. There are no printed copies of the calendar remaining.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Keep Out e-Ghouls and Goblins – National Consumers League

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In obervance of National Cyber Security Month, the National Consumers League is cautioning consumers about how best to guard their computers – and personal information – from the e-goblins and ghouls that may be trying to steal it. Follow this advice year-round to protect yourself from phishing scams and other hazards:

  • Don’t click on links within emails that ask for your personal information.
  • Never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen.
  • Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall, and keep them up-to-date.
  • Only use secured browsers when entering personal information. Look for a lock symbol to appear at the bottom of the Web page, and for the URL in the browser window to change from “http” to “https” to ensure that the page you’re on is secure.
  • Don’t shop online or do online banking while using an unencrypted or open wireless network, like those provided for free at coffee shops or some airport hotspots. Secure your own wireless network at home by encrypting it with a password. This will keep out your neighbors, but more importantly, it will keep out hackers and thieves who look for open/unencrypted wireless network to capture others’ financial information.
  • Visit www.fraud.org to learn more ways to avoid email and Web-based scams.

Keep out e-ghosts and goblins this National Cyber Security Month – National Consumers League

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October 29, 2008

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC — In observance of National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, the National Consumers League (NCL) is cautioning consumers about computer-based scams threatening their bank accounts and other sensitive personal information. NCL is the nation’s oldest consumer organization, and it collects reports of suspected and confirmed Internet and telemarketing fraud, identifies new scams and trends, and works with law enforcement to catch crooks at NCL’s Fraud Center. This month, NCL’s Fraud Center is focusing its efforts on how consumers can protect themselves from the evolving tactics that are used for online phishing scams. Phishing is when ID thieves trick people into providing their social security numbers, financial account numbers, PIN numbers, mothers’ maiden names, and other personal information.

“Consumers should be able to use their computers for fun, entertainment, banking, and other personal business with confidence,” said John Breyault, Director of NCL’s Fraud Center and Vice President for Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “But in order to do so, they must be informed about and protected against the sneak attacks scammers use to capture sensitive personal information. During National Cyber Security Awareness Month and year-round, consumers should endeavor to keep better control of their computers and their privacy.”

NCL has issued new tips for consumers this month to protect them from the e-ghosts and goblins that may be out to get them:

  • Don’t click on links within emails that ask for your personal information.
  • Never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen.
  • Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall, and keep them up-to-date.
  • Only use secured browsers when entering personal information. Look for a lock symbol to appear at the bottom of the Web page, and for the URL in the browser window to change from “http” to “https” to ensure that the page you’re on is secure.
  • Don’t shop online or do online banking while using an unencrypted or open wireless network, like those provided for free at coffee shops or some airport hotspots. Secure your own wireless network at home by encrypting it with a password. This will keep out your neighbors, but more importantly, it will keep out hackers and thieves who look for open/unencrypted wireless network to capture others’ financial information.

For more information about avoiding email and Web-based scams, visit www.fraud.org.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

OTC Cold Meds for Kids Under Scrutiny – National Consumers League

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by Mimi Johnson, Health Policy Associate

Earlier this month, on October 2, hundreds of people interested in child and health policy convened in Beltsville, MD for the Food and Drug Administration’s public hearing on pediatric over-the-counter cough and cold (OTC) medicines.

You may or may not recall this past winter, when the FDA recommended that children under the age of two not use OTC cough and cold products. This hearing was part of the agency’s efforts to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of the products in older populations, chiefly those between the ages of 2 and 6. The panel consisted of eight medical experts from the Centers for Disease Control and FDA, and 30 people testifying – of whom I was one – representing pharmaceutical companies, public interest groups, physicians, and researchers with varying opinions. Prior to the hearing, a list of questions for those testifying to consider were made available.

The Issue

Are OTC cough and cold medications safe for children? According to the experts at the hearing, it is very difficult to study the safety and efficacy of these drugs in children. Children are not able to communicate as well as adults when it comes to symptoms. Parents, and a substantial number of doctors, feel that it’s appropriate to use OTC products to treat the symptoms of coughs and colds (there is no product that actually “cures” a cold). Still others feel that these products are not only ineffective, but also unsafe.

While the question over the safety and efficacy remains, one of the greater issues at hand is what will happen should the kid versions of these products be removed from the market entirely. Many argue that by removing these products, parents and caregivers may turn to the adult versions. Others might turn to non-traditional remedies, many of which are not regulated by the FDA at all. The unintended consequences are of major concern for all those involved in the decision making process.

Some Thoughts

So, what’s a parent to do? Regardless of what is decided by the FDA, everyone – providers, industry, public interest groups, and the government – needs to work together to educate parents, caregivers—and even kids—about the issue.

Nearly everyone agrees that first and foremost, parents and caregivers need to talk to their doctor before giving their child any form of medication or remedy. It is crucial to encourage communication between the provider and the parent, but it is also important to know that some people do not have primary care providers or their providers might be rather inaccessible. Many others might face language barriers that will prevent them from knowing if it is okay to dispense these drugs, how much they can give, what they should be aware of, etc.

Whatever (and whenever) the decision is made, we must remember that the consumer, whether a parent or caregiver, must be informed. We must tell them about the decision – why the FDA acted how it did, what this means for them and their children, and what alternatives they can turn to (which should never be adult formulations).

Post-Hearing

On October 7th, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) released a statement that its members would be making several voluntary changes to the labels of OTC pediatric cough and cold medicines. Through consultation with the FDA, CHPA decided to transition the labeling on these medications to read “do not use in children under four years of age.” They also stressed that antihistamines should not be used to sedate or make a child sleepy.

Their bottom line? Read and follow the label, and contact your doctor should you have any questions.

As we continue to wait for the FDA to weigh in, please check back with us – both via the blog and the health section on our Web site – for updates and resources.

October: Talk about Prescriptions Month – National Consumers League

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by Mimi Johnson, Health Policy Associate

Our friends at the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) are celebrating the 23rd annual “Talk About Rx” Month (TAP Month).

This observance helps remind us as consumers to stay informed about the medication we use, and we encourage you to use this month as inspiration to get a little savvier about your Rx meds, OTCs, and even dietary supplements. Take some time to review the drug facts, and learn how to take your medications correctly. Use NCPIE’s resources to help make a list of the medicine you are taking. Learning more about your medicine(s) will help you to share and better talk about this information with your health care providers.

NCPIE’s site is full of useful resources, from learning how to be more Medicine Smart to knowing more about the medicines in your home.

Happy Talk about Prescriptions Month from NCL!

Meet NCL’s Mimi Johnson – National Consumers League

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by Mimi Johnson, NCL’s Health Policy Associate

Hello! As I mark my second month-iversary at the National Consumers League as its new Health Policy Associate, I thought I’d take a quick break from my work and introduce myself to you, our Savvy Consumer readers.  I work directly with the Director of Health Policy, Rebecca Burkholder, on issues ranging from medication safety and adherence to the role of consumers in health reform.

As I run around town attending meetings, testifying before Federal agencies, and participating in coalitions, I get to provide a voice for you, the consumer, in the (often very crowded) health policy discussions. I came to the League after having worked for a health law institute at Georgetown University, which allowed me to see policy from the legal and academic side in a way I never had before. My first “Washington Job” was working as an intern in the office of Senator Feingold, which gave me invaluable insights into the legislative and political world. I’ve since worked for health and environmental nonprofit organizations and at the Royal Norwegian Embassy. A native of Wisconsin, I came to Washington for my undergraduate studies at George Washington University. I escaped the Washington, DC political scene for a year to earn a master’s degree in comparative health and social policy at Oslo University College in Norway.

Stay tuned to the Savvy Consumer, where I hope to post exciting stories – some first-hand, others just very interesting – relating to you, the consumer, and the world of health policy. Thanks for reading! I look forward to joining the discussion!

Bringing broadband to low-income households – National Consumers League

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The National Consumers League has submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission urging the FCC to adopt a plan that encourages robust competition among current and future broadband delivery platforms, keeps retail prices affordable for moderate-to-low income consumers, creates sustainable jobs, and encourages innovative solutions to bridge the Digital Divide and connect all Americans to the benefits of broadband.

In the letter to the FCC, Breyault pointed out that, while the Universal Service Fund is vital to ensuring that telecommunications service is available to all, the fund has not historically been utilized to provide broadband services. In today’s society, he argued, broadband access is essential, helping improve consumers’ lives in a number of ways – communicating with friends and family, working or telecommuting, getting healthcare and improving their education. All of these benefits should be available to all consumers; unfortunately, often because of cost, they are not.

A recent study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that only 25 percent of households with annual incomes below $20,000 have broadband service, as compared with 55 percent of all households. Breyault recommend that, should a pilot USF for broadband program move forward, there be a strong consumer education component included in the plan.

Read NCL’s letter to FCC here.

Immigration Raid Reveals Dirty Secret in Meat Processing Plants – National Consumers League

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by Reid Maki, Coordinator, Child Labor Coalition

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a Greenville, South Carolina chicken processing plant on October 7th, they arrested 330 workers and unwittingly uncovered a problem we at the National Consumers League are deeply concerned about: child labor. The agents found six minors working in the processing plant, performing one of the dirtiest jobs in America—meat processing. One worker in the plant was 15; five others were 16. They were involved in cutting wings and muscles on the poultry, very dangerous work that federal government’s child labor laws, as outdated as they are, prohibit.

Another immigration raid last May in Postville, Iowa, revealed that nearly 60 kids were working in a kosher meat processing plant. In August, the state of Iowa accused the plant managers of more than 9,000 child labor violations.

In August, I visited Postville and talked to a young man who had worked in the plant when he was 16. He spoke of arduous work, low pay, and routinely being cheated out of his wages. He said that when he complained to his employers about being cheated, he was told to quit. He revealed a scar on his elbow where he had accidentally stabbed himself working on the line. He said when the accident happened, his employers bandaged his arm and told him to get back to work.

Many states prohibit workers under 18 from working in slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants because the work is dangerous. The Charlotte Observer published an investigation earlier this year that found that poultry plants are filled with hazards. “Workers are surrounded by dangerous chemicals and machines. They stand shoulder to shoulder wielding sharp knives. They routinely make more than 20,000 cutting motions a shift, which can leave them with nerve and muscle damage. And they sometimes lose fingers,” reported the Observer’s Ames Alexander and Franco Ordonez.

The companies involved in the raids claim that they didn’t knowingly hire minors—that they believed the young workers to be 18 or older. Yet, immigration officials had no difficulty quickly establishing the teenagers’ actual ages. The former child laborer we spoke to in Postville told us that he wrote on employment forms that he was 20 but said he was sure his supervisors knew he was underage.

When NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg testified before a House subcommittee hearing on child labor this September, she asked the Department of Labor (DOL) to conduct a targeted investigation of meat processing and slaughterhouse facilities across the nation to determine if large numbers of children are working in the plants. This month’s immigration raid in Greenville suggests that Wage and Hour investigators should take our advice and begin looking as soon as possible.

In addition to the concerns it raised about child labor enforcement, the Postville raid raises serious questions about ICE’s evolving immigration enforcement strategies. On Monday, October 20th, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving ICE’s use of aggravated identity theft charges against immigrant workers who use someone else’s Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to secure work. ICE convinced—many advocates would say coerced—302 Postville workers to plead guilty to misusing SSNs by threatening to charge the workers with aggravated identity theft, which carries a minimum two-year sentence. The workers—many of whom were indigenous Guatemalans and seemed unaware that they had committed a crime—agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges and accept a five-month jail sentence, rather than waiting indefinitely in prison for their trial to start and risking a minimum two-year sentence.

In the case being heard by the Supreme Court, Ignacio Flores-Figueroa used illegal papers and was convicted of aggravated ID theft and other counts and received a six-year prison sentence, a longer sentence than some convicted rapists receive. Flores-Figueroa’s attorneys have argued that the government hasn’t proved that he knew he was using someone else’s identity—in many cases, undocumented workers use made up numbers, and no real person’s identity is actually stolen. The immigrant workers often do not know if the numbers they are using belong to someone else. In such cases, there is no intent to steal someone’s identity.

When President Bush signed the Identity Theft Enhancement Act in 2004, he characterized the law as an attempt to stop identity thieves who steal one’s money or credit or commit acts of terrorism—not immigrants taking “dirty” jobs that few Americans want. ICE’s decision to try immigrants or to use the aggravated identity theft charge to coerce immigrants into pleading to lesser charges is a relatively new strategy, used in Postville to great effect.

The Postville workers had very little time to discuss the case with their federally-appointed attorneys and decided they had no choice but to plead guilty.  They were “tried” in court in groups of five or six. Attorneys and judges were provided with scripts by ICE prosecution teams. As Erik Camayd-Freixas, an ICE-hired interpreter for the immigrants, has noted in an important essay about the raid, the men were “caught between hopelessness and despair,” terrified about what would become of their wives and children while they were imprisoned. Despite their guilty pleas, the workers, wrote Camayd-Freixas, did not seem to understand what a SSN was or how the numbers got on their applications. In Camayd-Freixas’s view they could not “knowingly” have used the fake numbers—a criteria of the charge.

In an editorial, which called ICE’s strategy “Dickensian cruelty,” the New York Times noted that “No one is denying that the workers were on the wrong side of the law. But there is a profound difference between stealing people’s identities to rob them of money and property, and using false papers to merely get a job. It is a distinction that the Bush administration, goaded by immigration extremists, has willfully ignored. Deporting unauthorized workers is one thing; sending desperate breadwinners to prison, and their families deeper into poverty, is another.”

Carried out with ridiculous overstatement (assault rifles and a helicopter), the ICE raid cost the federal government $6.1 million to conduct. Add another $2 million to house 300 prisoners for five months and the current tab exceeds $8 million. The raid caused profound problems for the town of Postville, which basically lost one-third of its population overnight. Businesses closed their doors. The tearing apart of families was both traumatizing and heartbreaking. Even if ICE is correct that the raids deter future illegal immigration, we wonder if the price is worth it. Is sending a message worth this kind of civic trauma?

The firestorm of protest over the Postville strategy has caused ICE to back away from using aggravated identity theft as a tool to get workers to plead to lesser charges in subsequent immigration raids. We hope that the next President will look at ICE’s strategy to determine whether the agency is out of control. We hope that in looking back at Postville, they will note one final irony: the Postville workers were processed for arrest at a livestock facility—the National Cattle Congress— in Waterloo. What does that say about how federal officials view these workers?