Acne, Pregnancy Among Disqualifying Conditions

WashingtonPost ^ | 9-19-09 | David Hilzenrath

[STARWISE]

A proposal to make preexisting health conditions irrelevant in the sale of insurance policies could help not just the seriously ill but also people who might consider themselves healthy, documents released Friday by a California-based advocacy group illustrate.

Health insurers have issued guidelines saying they could deny coverage to people suffering from such conditions as acne, hemorrhoids and bunions.

One big insurer refused to issue individual policies to police officers and firefighters, along with people in other hazardous occupations.

Some treated pregnancy or the intention to adopt as a reason for rejection.

*snip*

Kristin E. Binns, a spokeswoman for parent company WellPoint, said by e-mail that she could not comment on the guidelines because they are from years ago.

[SampleMan]

The insurance industry is evil incarnate. I truly believe the people working in the industry are either agents of Satan or stupid greedy fools. I can only hope their spot in hell reflects the pain and suffering they have inflicted on so many..

You are aware that insurance is a product that you aren't required to purchase and that to the extent that your options are limited, they are so limited because of your state government. Right?

[SampleMan]

Frankly, I wonder why a pregnancy without complications is covered at all by insurance. Having children isn't a disease or illness. I'm somewhat of the “pay as you go” opinion on child birth.

[Nik Naym]

"acne, hemorrhoids and bunions" You sound like a real attractive guy! /Roseann Rosannadana

[goat granny]

I was going through some old boxes of stuff and actually found my blue cross bill for a couple of my kids...born in 1958 and 1959. The cost for 5 days in the hospital and 5 days of nursury was: DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......$150.00 for hospital......I think my last grandchilds hospital bill for a couple of days and no complications was in the thousands....BC/BS paid for 50% of the doctor bill...$75.00.

When my daughter-in-law told me the cost of my last grandchild, my mouth dropped, and that doesn't happen very often...

[Palin1017]

Wait, what would have happened in the case of a premature birth?

[SampleMan]

OB lawsuits have an awful lot to do with it. I'd say about 80%. The rest is better pharmaceuticals.

[Balding_Eagle]

LOL! You shouldn’t drink and post.

[goat granny]

Wait, what would have happened in the case of a premature birth?

Don't know, mine was not premature. But he was small only 5 pounds 14 oz...

[montanajoe]

I'm perfectly sober and 100% serious. I don't expect the insurance shills and useful idiots to agree...

[Balding_Eagle]

That was not a post of a sober conservative, especially in these times.

[goat granny]

It was long before government started to mandate to insurance company's what they had to cover...For instance, birth control pills were not covered and they didn't cost a lot of money. Elective surgery of any kind was not covered unless the doctor could give a medical reason for it, like Rhinoplasty, (nose job) Abortions were illegal, so that wasn't covered...Viagra would not have been covered either, anything with no medical basis you paid for yourself...both hospital and doctor....Doctors visits were not paid for that was the personal responsibility of the person....A doctors visit was 15 dollars. A charge for a penicillin shot was 5 dollars...

I think law suits are responsible for doctors charges going up because they have to carry more insurance themselves...But hospital charges have seemed a bit excessive but then as you say, there is much improvement in what services hospital offer...

But we have all heard of the 60 dollar aspirin in the hospital...I was a nurse and worked in the hospital for 10 years before becoming a goat herder..(that sure does sound strange) but thats why I retired..

City hospitals took the uninsured and now I think the government mandates every hospital has to...so there is much (dead wood) that the insurance companies have to pay for..that ups everyone's premiums..

I am not trying to stick up for the hospitals or insurance companies, but government meddling is what screwed up much of the problems we see today..They started big time in the 70's determining what a doctor must charge for a procedure.

For instance: I was talking with one of our gastroenterologist and asked him how things were working out....This was his answer:

I charge $250.00 for a gastrostopy, the government says it will pay 80% of the charge and the cost was 350.00. The remaining 20% to be paid by the patient...Most doctors would tell you that they would take whatever the insurance would pay, BECAUSE the price the government put on the services allowed were much higher than the average doctor already charged. 80% of the higher charges were a raise for the doctors...

80% of $350.00 was $274.00. The doctor only charged 250 before the government came in an dictated to them.. Hope this is not too complicated. I sometimes describe something a bit garbled..

[SampleMan]

My wife is an EM M.D., so I’m well versed in exactly what the government has done to destroy health care.

[goat granny]

Yep the government is a pip isn’t it.....They screw it up and then come in to fix it......

[Balding_Eagle]

“The insurance industry is evil incarnate. I truly believe the people working in the industry are either agents of Satan or stupid greedy fools.

I can only hope their spot in hell reflects the pain and suffering they have inflicted on so many.. “

Your comments on the evil incarnates is needed over here:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345528/posts