Discriminatory practices can affect women's health by erecting barriers to services and insurance, by creating stress that contributes to physical and mental health problems and by establishing obstacles to financial achievement. The Report Card examines policies that can combat these negative effects. First, states can protect victims of domestic violence who face discrimination in all "lines" of insurance: health, life, disability and property/casualty. (1) Insurance companies have used a history of abuse to deny coverage or to increase premiums, and have refused to cover abuse-related medical conditions and claims. (2) These practices can discourage victims from seeking help for fear of losing their insurance coverage if the abuse is discovered. Although federal law offers some protections against discrimination, (3) several states offer more comprehensive protection by enacting laws that prohibit discrimination against domestic violence victims. Second, states can prohibit discrimination in employment. Employment discrimination affects women’s health and well-being, not only because access to employment affects women’s financial status, but also because employment discrimination blocks one of the key avenues to health insurance. Although the federal government and the vast majority of states prohibit employment discrimination based on sex, race, religion, ethnicity, age and disability, few states prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Third, there is no comprehensive federal statute prohibiting genetic discrimination, although an Executive Order does bar such discrimination against federal employees. (4) Scientists are now beginning to identify genes that are related to specific diseases and such scientific advances may lead to discriminatory practices by both health insurance companies and employers looking to avoid the costs of potential illness.