Running Head: Women in Healthcare 1

Women in Healthcare: Literature Review

Esteban Rodriguez
University of Texas at El Paso










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Abstract
Healthcare is a problem for people because not everyone can afford it and it also has a
biased perspective on gender. Gender rating, is what the biased system is called for healthcare, is
the primary reason why most Americans are not insured health wise. In the health workplace has
a similar biased perspective of women, women earn less than a man. The research I have done
will show these biased points towards women in healthcare.

















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Women in Healthcare: Literature Review
Healthcare is a system to ensure the good health and respond to the expectations of the
population as well as fair financial contribution from the people and the government.
Implementation and progress of healthcare depend on the provision of healthcare services,
generation of resources, proper financing and correct stewardship. Health care is a problem here
in the United States because it is very expensive and not everybody can afford it. Furthermore,
womens healthcare is even more expensive which makes it harder to afford. The government
has programs with the purpose to help them pay all the health care such as Medicaid, Medicare,
and others.
Women face price high prices when it comes to pay their insurance premiums because
they are more prone to health problems than men. That is why the government enacted the
Affordable Care Act in March 2010 but will be implemented at the end of March 2014. The
Affordable Care Act will change many lives in the United States, especially women since they
were being discriminated when they were trying to apply for healthcare. To learn more about
women and the struggle to acquire equal healthcare to that of a mans, these questions will help
understand:
1. Why do you think womens healthcare is inferior to that of a mans?
2. What are the differences between women and mens qualifications for healthcare?
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3. Are healthcare institutions biased towards women when they are applying for
healthcare or healthcare related jobs?
4. Are womens healthcare premiums higher than that of a mans?
The following review on literature will: help better understand the struggle of women to
pay for their healthcare, the differences in health of a women and men, and the inequality in
healthcare.
Why do you think womens healthcare is inferior to that of a mans?
Gender inequality has always been an issue ever since people became civilized because
women were looked down upon on doing a mans job. Since women were never seen as risk
takers like men are, they were considered to not likely need as much healthcare a man would
need. But women started to become part of the outside world, not just being housewives so they
would need to start getting healthcare similar to that of a man. For my primary research, I
conducted an interview with Martha Botello, a Registered Nurse at Providence, according to
Martha, womens healthcare in general is inferior, for example, to replace total knees for men
or women, you need components that are different for women and men. Since the components
of the total knee replacement are different based on gender, it means that the care for that surgery
is different for men and women.
What are the differences between women and mens qualifications for healthcare?
Since the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare as it was nicknamed, was passed,
healthcare insurance institutions cannot be biased towards pre-existing conditions. After it was
ratified, the government launched a website marketplace where Americans can apply for health
insurance, request quotes on insurance policies, and buy insurance policies. According to
Healthcare.gov, all this is based on your current income, the lower the income, the more tax
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credits you acquire, which basically means that the poorer you are the more the government
helps you pay for healthcare insurance. Which basically means that there are no distinct
qualifications between men and women when it comes to applying for healthcare.
Are healthcare institutions biased towards women when they are applying for healthcare
or healthcare related jobs?
The answer to this question is no but there is a difference in a mans salary and a
womens. According to Paula M. Lantz, in her report, she states that women healthcare
executives earn significantly lower salaries than men executives. The male-female salary gap,
adjusting for education and experience, time in the workforce, has been stable over time: men
earned 18 percent more than women in 1990; 17 percent in 1995; 19 percent in 2000; and 18
percent more in 2006. In 2006 nearly one third, 29 percent, of women said they did not receive
fair compensation because of gender, compared to only 1 percent of men. Also in her report she
states that women executives are much more likely than males to be a department or to fill some
other staff position, whereas men are more likely to be chief executive officer, chief operating
officer, president, or vice-president. This salary gap shows that the glass ceiling is in effect even
in healthcare institutions.
Are womens healthcare premiums higher than that of a mans?
Yes, according to Robert Pear, from The New York Times, for a popular Blue Cross Blue
Shield in Chicago, a thirty year old woman pays $375 a month, which is 31 percent more than
what a man of the same age pays for the same coverage. The graph below shows that womens
health premiums are more expensive than a mans.
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The graph also shows that mens premiums get more expensive as they get older, even higher
than the womens premiums. Young women pay up to two hundred dollars more than a man
until they start going to their early forties, thats when mens premiums are getting more
expensive than a womans. Young women have more health developments and require more
medical attention, which makes their insurance policies more expensive since they go to get
medical check-ups more often.
Conclusion
Healthcare has a variety of changes on Americans, especially when it comes to applying
for it. Womens premiums are still higher than a mans because they need more care than a man
when they are young as shown in the graph. With the Affordable Care Act the gender rating will
be removed from the healthcare companies. Also with this act people will be able to acquire
health insurance more easily and for a cheaper price. Women in the workplace still struggle to
get equal salary with that of a mans because of the glass ceiling.
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References
M. Botello, Registered Nurse, Providence. Personal communication, April 3, 2014
Pear, R. (2012). Gender Gap Persists in Cost of Health Insurance. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/health/policy/women-still-pay-more-for-
health-insurance-data-shows.html?_r=0
Heath H. (2013). Women Should Pay More for Health Care. Time. Retrieved from
http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/23/women-should-pay-more-for-health-care/
Graves, L. (2013). Why Making Women Pay More Than Men for Health Insurance Doesn't
Make Sense. National Journal. Retrieved from http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-
making-women-pay-more-than-men-for-health-insurance-doesn-t-make-sense-20131212
Lantz, P. 2008, March 7. Gender and Leadership in Healthcare Administration: 21
st
Century
Progress and Challenges. Retrieved from http://www.ncid.umich.edu/events/Lantz-
Gender_and_Leadership_in_Healthcare_Administration_21st_Century.pdf
Milliman. (2011). [Health premium differences between men and women in a line graph].
Monthly Claim Costs by Age. Retrieved from http://www.milliman.com/insight/health/The-
young-are-the-restless-Demographic-changes-under-health-reform/
Miles, C. 2013, September 28. How Much Does Obamacare Cost? This Graph Tells You.
Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/65651/how-much-does-obamacare-cost-this-
graph-tells-you
Healthcare.gov. Will I qualify for lower costs on monthly premiums? Retrieved from
https://www.healthcare.gov/will-i-qualify-to-save-on-monthly-premiums/