How An Actual Survivor of DV Feels About the Rape-Is-A-Pre-Existing-Condition Fervor

There’s been a lot of angry posts popping up in my news feed stating unequivocally, rape victims will be denied coverage under the GOP’s healthcare proposal. Two questions – 1. Show me specifically in the AHCA where it states this. - 2. Where was your indignant outrage for rape victims prior to this?  I want to believe these people are well-meaning, but I can’t. These loud voices of the “resistance” are woefully misinformed and dangerously reckless. Obviously, these people have not read the AHCA and doubtful they ever read the ACA.  Under Obamacare, insurers were prohibited from charging higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions. This provision remains in place today. If they had bothered to do any research at all, they would find that the amendment proposed by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) states, “…nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance carriers to discriminate in rates for health insurance coverage by gender.” The amendment proposed by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) specifically provides for people with pre-existing conditions the flexibility of selecting their own coverage without being priced out of the market. Both contain pretty clear wording that states under no circumstance can people be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. The best I can determine is the option for states to seek a waiver is what has caused all of the furor. Under the new healthcare act, the Obamacare era provision left in place can be waived IF a state requests a waiver and IF the waiver is granted. A state can request a waiver ONLY if it has implemented a risk-sharing or reinsurance provision. In the event a waiver is granted, no one may be charged a premium based on health status if they have maintained coverage. If they didn’t, the federal government has a plan for that. An additional $18 billion has been set aside for waiver seeking states to grant those with pre-existing conditions that did not maintain insurance coverage the ability to acquire affordable care. These amendments protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and decrease the likelihood of a gap in their health coverage. 

From where would this type of misinformation stem? The one constant I have found among the fear-mongering news articles is an interview with an attorney named Jody Neal-Post. She gave an account of her experience of being denied health insurance coverage in 2006 after divulging she has a history of domestic abuse. Which insurance companies denied her coverage was not stated nor were any documents provided denial of coverage or the reason/s given for denying coverage. I sincerely sympathize with Ms. Neal Post and her ex-spouse, but neither one of them would be denied health coverage under the AHCA simply for being victims of domestic violence. http://www.denverpost.com/2005/05/13/jody-neal-post/

Enough about domestic violence, let’s get on with rape. (If you are shocked and think I am not giving these serious issues the respect they are due, ask to see my medical records and then criticize if you dare.) Using rape victims as the rallying cry for your battle against the AHCA is not only a disgusting thing to do, it’s not even based in reality. All of this angry chatter “on behalf” of the victims causes harm, real, tangible harm. For many survivors, hearing about rape is triggering. Hearing about healthcare for rape victims is triggering. If this is a foreign concept, ask me to describe the cold, quiet, dehumanizing experience of having your body used as evidence collection. Triggering causes many rape victims to relive their assaults. Reliving the assault causes many victims to suffer, physically and mentally, suffer. For those of you white knights riding into AHCA battle on rape victims behalf, stop. Stop it. Right now, stop it. What you are doing is the very definition of terrorism – “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” While you may want to argue the “unlawful” portion of the definition, can we agree that while not technically unlawful (unless a victim can’t take the daily reminders and blatant exploitation of his or her victimhood and kills his or herself) this behavior is decidedly immoral. The rape-is-a-pre-existing-condition camp is telling lies that are designed to influence the populous that the GOP healthcare plan harms rape victims and should be stopped. Terrorism.

While my mother insisted, it’s the thought that counts, in this case, it counts against you. You are not championing rape victims. By insuring victims receive the healthcare they are most likely already receiving with no threat to that care, you are perpetuating a lie. Want to help rape victims? Volunteer for RAINN or the Joyful Heart Foundation or NO MORE. Buy some feminine products and diapers and donate them to your local domestic violence shelter. And by all means, educate yourself! Read and understand what you’ve read before you pull your pink pussy hat out of your pocket and go to war for someone else. You have to stop commandeering the collective experiences of rape victims and using them for your own political gain. These experiences are not yours to use. They are not yours to exploit. I’d say shame on you, but your actions have shown you don’t know what shame feels like.