But yesterday I heard a story that made me think again. A couple with a young son decided to leave their respective corporate jobs to start their own small business. Of course that meant that they would give up their group health insurance, and that was factored into their decision. They knew they would have to buy health insurance independently.
Both Mom and Dad had had their share of medical challenges over the years, including multiple back surgeries, but they both qualified for their new insurance without a hitch. The toddler? He was denied coverage. Why? Because when the child was 2 years of age he developed the habit of pulling out the hairs from his eyebrows, which is sometimes a manifestation of an emotional disorder. The parents sought and received treatment for the child and the behavior stopped and has never returned. The insurance company denied coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition!
News junkies like me know that just this past week there were two ridiculous stories in the news: One about a 4-month-old baby boy who was denied coverage for obesity at 17 pounds; and the other, about a 3-year-old girl who was denied coverage for being too small. The little girl had no underlying medical issue; she is not a person with dwarfism. She is just tiny. These were considered by the insurance companies involved to be pre-existing conditions.
What?!?!?
Conservatives have been screaming about the burdens small businesses are bearing in today's economy. Some of those same politicians appear to be absolutely opposed to healthcare reform. Guess which segment of the economy is being shut out of healthcare coverage on the basis of arbitrary and nonsensical decisions?
You can find/hear stories about both sides of the issue. But do you really think government is the answer? Ask your doctor what she/he thinks about Medicare reimbursements.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying the government should run the system, but government must do something to incentivize the insurance industry to clean up their act.
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