The High Price of a Healthcare Secret

When my son Chris was diagnosed with diabetes in 1987, our family never seriously considered keeping his illness a secret. We wanted family, friends and the school to know about his illness for his safety. Should Chris lose consciousness, he could die without medical attention.

Many others keep their medical conditions confidential for a variety of reasons including fear of discrimination. I met such a woman in Cleveland. I will call her Elizabeth, which is not her real first name. I do not know her last name because she would not disclose it to me.

Twenty-five years ago, Elizabeth was diagnosed with an illness, the nature of which she also would not disclose. She has been self-employed and covered by private insurance all these years. Getting a job with coverage would have been a problem because she would have had to reveal her diagnosis.

Elizabeth is the prey of the individual insurance market. Even though her illness causes no symptoms, Elizabeth's annual premiums have ranged from $20,000 for a traditional insurance policy to $10,000 for an HMO without prescription coverage. Premiums consume all of her discretionary budget and then some.

Elizabeth confessed that she had not spoken with anyone except her medical provider about her diagnosis or the extreme financial burden of keeping coverage. Guarding these secrets is clearly taking its toll. She appeared genuinely relieved to have someone listen to her story without fear of her secrets being revealed.

Health insurers in the private market have a license to steal. That's not fair -- plain and simple. Our legislators need to enact reasonable regulations to prevent individual consumers from being gouged.