I am declaring war on the health insurance industry’s practice of excluding people with pre-existing conditions.
For those of you who don’t know me, I founded VoteHealthcare.org because I have two children who are chronically ill. Chris has Type I diabetes, and Caitlin has epilepsy. No insurance company will sell Chris an individual policy because of his diabetes. Caitlin can buy a policy, but they charge her more than anyone else, and -- get this --they exclude treatment for her epilepsy. So, in addition to the higher premium, she would have to pay more than $300 each month from her own pocket for her medications.
Every for-profit insurance company is in the business of making money. They are duty-bound to their shareholders to earn profits so they can pay dividends. Plain and simple, this means that insurance companies don't want to cover sick people. Left unregulated, an insurance company will exclude anyone with a medical problem. Only five states (MA ME NJ NY VT) prevent this, which tells you how powerful insurance companies are.
Insurers use alleged "pre-existing conditions" to push applicants into more expensive plans that offer less coverage or to deny coverage altogether. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this weekend that Highmark, Pittsburgh’s dominant insurer, is excluding babies with acid reflux - i.e. spitting up - from affordable plans. Babies with this extremely common ailment are shuttled into high deductible plans with premiums over $400 per month.
A United Healthcare company, ironically called "Golden Rule," is denying coverage to women in Colorado who delivered their babies through Cesarean section, In Florida, Blue Cross is charging women who've had Cesareans 25% higher premiums, according to the New York Times.
From Enron to the multi-billion dollar mortgage debacle, our country has seen the results of unfettered corporate greed. Health insurers have been making up their own rules long enough. Too many working Americans are suffering as a result. It's time for Washington to impose reasonable regulations. Our representatives need start protecting their constituents, instead of health insurance company profits.
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1 comments:
Keep up the good work. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38. Thankfully I had excellent health insurance. I'm in remission now and doing well but there's one small thing, I can't really change jobs. No small or medium size company can afford to add me to their rolls and I sure can't afford a private policy which of course would exclude anything related to cancer. Good luck in your trip!
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