Did you know that in nine states it is legal to consider domestic violence as a "pre-existing condition" and to therefore deny medical coverage of treatments related to said violence?
For a personal take on the meaning of that, read PunditMom's story.
I thought, in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, you all should know.
Not that I feel good about knowing. I'm pretty sure I wish I didn't know that. Because I certainly wish it weren't true.
Especially when domestic violence stats still look like this:
Nearly one in every four women are beaten or raped by a partner during adulthood.1
␣ 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.2
␣ Three women are killed by a current or former intimate partner each day in America, on average.3
␣ Over 22 percent of women and 7.4 percent of men surveyed, reported being physically assaulted by a current or former partner in their lifetime.4
␣ Approximately 2.3 million people each year in the United States are raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Women who were physically assaulted by an intimate partner averaged 6.9 physical assaults per year by the same partner.5
␣ Approximately 37% of women seeking injury-related treatment in hospital emergency rooms were there because of injuries inflicted by a current or former spouse/partner.6
␣ Women are at an increased risk of harm shortly after separation from an abusive partner.7
[Source: National Network to End Domestic Violence]
Check that last stat: Women are at increased risk after leaving the abuser. So if they try to extricate themselves from this "pre-existing condition", they are actually at more risk of "developing" that "condition" and needing treatment...which can be denied.
Bah! And Feh!
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