Health insurers forced to re-instate coverage.

[techs]

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on...einstate-policies.html

Chalk one up for sickly patients. California regulators have ordered insurers there to reinstate the health insurance policies of 26 people who lost their coverage after the insurers claimed they had lied on their applications, according to news reports. The 26 cases represent the most egregious examples of insurers wrongly "rescinding" policies, typically for inadvertent errors. The person gets sick and starts making expensive claims, and the insurer cries "fraud!" The patient says "forgot!" or sometimes "say what?" For example, one woman I spoke with on this topic had answered "no" when asked if she'd been treated for cancer in the past 10 years. Later her policy was yanked because the insurer claimed that regular blood work she had to ensure her earlier cancer hadn't returned constituted cancer treatment.

Now California begins a case-by-case review of thousands of rescissions in the past four years, and it may be that these 26 are the tip of a fairly hefty iceberg. And consumer advocates say there's no reason to believe this issue is confined to California. They expect similar cases to begin emerging elsewhere.

These problems arise in the individual market, where people buy policies on their own. That market is much more loosely regulated than the group market?and often more problematic for patients?as I discussed a few months ago.

Right now, only about 5 percent of people buy insurance this way. But if Sen. John McCain has his way, many more would very likely start buying insurance on their own. The presumptive Republican nominee has proposed eliminating the tax break that employees currently get on their health insurance benefits and instead giving people a tax credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to put toward buying coverage. I also wrote today about the presidential candidates' healthcare reform proposals.



Cliffs:
If you buy health insurance on your own the health insurance companies are much more loosely regulated and far more likely to abuse you.

If you get seriously ill the health insurance company will try to cancel your coverage by examining every part of your application for errors.

Person in California gets sick, health insurance company cancels policy. Claims that blood test to see if cancer has returned is cancer "treatment"

California regulators rule coverage be re-instated.

Many similiar instances of this are likely.

McCains health plan wants to move everyone into buying their own insurance.

Think you're covered? Think again.

 

[Slew Foot]

Yeah, insurance companies of all types are assholes. Nothing new here.

 

[Duwelon]

Certainly an issue but it's a total FUD article. So much speculation and so few real reporting.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Health insurers are going to be viewed as evil no matter what they do. People hate them when they raise premiums to cover rising healthcare costs, and people hate them when they attempt to cut costs by nit picking policies. Once the government comes to save the day by nationalizing healthcare, everyone will hate them for having to make those decisions. The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Michael Moore's war is starting to take effect

 

[JSt0rm]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

And these people choose not to carry INSURANCE why?

I know a few who choose not to carry, but damn, they still have health care - they just pay for it themselves if they go to the doc. 2 have shown me the numbers(ie how much they've saved...due to being "lucky"?) but there is no way I'd go without. Bare minimum people should be purchasing on their own is some MM with an HSA. It makes tax sense, PLUS they have major coverage....not to mention it's relatively low cost.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

I had a private policy for 2 years that cost under $100/mo. Anybody in America that works could afford that. Many just spend it on other stuff they consider more important, like cable TV and cell phones.

 

[FuzzyBee]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

And these people choose not to carry INSURANCE why?

I know a few who choose not to carry, but damn, they still have health care - they just pay for it themselves if they go to the doc. 2 have shown me the numbers(ie how much they've saved...due to being "lucky"?) but there is no way I'd go without. Bare minimum people should be purchasing on their own is some MM with an HSA. It makes tax sense, PLUS they have major coverage....not to mention it's relatively low cost.

My question whenever I see reports of the number of uninsured Americans is "How many of those can get health insurance, but choose not to?"

For some people, it's not near the top of the list of things they need to pay for - like cell phones and all-the-bells-and-whistles cable service.

 

[episodic]

Originally posted by: FuzzyBee

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

And these people choose not to carry INSURANCE why?

I know a few who choose not to carry, but damn, they still have health care - they just pay for it themselves if they go to the doc. 2 have shown me the numbers(ie how much they've saved...due to being "lucky"?) but there is no way I'd go without. Bare minimum people should be purchasing on their own is some MM with an HSA. It makes tax sense, PLUS they have major coverage....not to mention it's relatively low cost.

My question whenever I see reports of the number of uninsured Americans is "How many of those can get health insurance, but choose not to?"

For some people, it's not near the top of the list of things they need to pay for - like cell phones and all-the-bells-and-whistles cable service.

I love remarks like this.

Buying health insurance for my wife would cost over 800$ per month for her alone purchasing straight from providers.

I don't think skipping my 30$ cable bill and 39$ cell phone bill will get me even within 700$ of this goal.

 

[Double Trouble]

There are probably some (young and healthy) people who chose not to purchase health insurance, but I'd venture a guess that the vast majority of the uninsured are not uninsured by choice. They simply can't realistically afford the skyrocketing price of healthcare.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
I had a private policy for 2 years that cost under $100/mo. Anybody in America that works could afford that. Many just spend it on other stuff they consider more important, like cable TV and cell phones.

How old were you? Was this a catastrophic policy with high deductibles and co-pays and little coverage for smaller matters? Did you have any children to insure? Do you suffer from any pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses or diseases? Your rates will increase as you age and as you begin to accumulate a history of medical problems and conditions. Try paying for your insurance at age 55.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
The unlimited buffet we know as healthcare is coming to an end sooner or later.

unlimited buffet? I can think of like 7 people off the top of my head with no health care. I think we all need to take the goggles off and look at this issue beyond our own narrow interests.

I had a private policy for 2 years that cost under $100/mo. Anybody in America that works could afford that. Many just spend it on other stuff they consider more important, like cable TV and cell phones.

Go and look up the costs for a 55 year old. It's like $700 a month...

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
I had a private policy for 2 years that cost under $100/mo. Anybody in America that works could afford that. Many just spend it on other stuff they consider more important, like cable TV and cell phones.

The age of a person and the amount/type of coverage makes a large difference.
From 25 yr to 35 yrs there could be 30% increase.
From 25 yr to 45 yr there could be close to a 100% increase.


Bare bones for a 50+ can be $350/month - Emergency coverage w/ $1K deductible
For what would be equivalent to a PPO type coverage w/ a $100 deductble can run $600-700 month

 

[spittledip]

You know, even if McCain had his way and people got the 2500 dollar tax break, the govt would find a way to get that money back, or the bill would be reversed and that money would be gone forever and we all would be screwed.

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
I had a private policy for 2 years that cost under $100/mo. Anybody in America that works could afford that. Many just spend it on other stuff they consider more important, like cable TV and cell phones.

How old were you? Was this a catastrophic policy with high deductibles and co-pays and little coverage for smaller matters? Did you have any children to insure? Do you suffer from any pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses or diseases? Your rates will increase as you age and as you begin to accumulate a history of medical problems and conditions. Try paying for your insurance at age 55.

D*mn right. My (family) coverage costs over $600 per month-was recently raised to over $800 but I raised the deductible to skyhigh levels to cut the premium.

And no one in the family has had anything but routine claims for years-no significant prior medical conditions.

And as my kids graduate college they are thrown off the plan, without any corresponding decrease in premiums.

Anyone who has ever bought private health insurance knows how horrible the current system is. The applications are onerous, the coverage expensive and you have to read the ENTIRE policies carefully to make sure your aren't buying nearly useless coverage. I'd be very interested to learn the details of the policy you had, Mxylplyx, I'm highly suspicious of it's actual worth.

 

[Xcobra]

Originally posted by: tagej
There are probably some (young and healthy) people who chose not to purchase health insurance, but I'd venture a guess that the vast majority of the uninsured are not uninsured by choice. They simply can't realistically afford the skyrocketing price of healthcare.

Ding! Ding! Ding!