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Insurance cut over Facebook bikini pictures (Deceptive Title Alert)
AFP via Washington Times ^ | 11/22/2009

Posted on 11/22/2009 2:24:16 AM PST by markomalley

Facebook can be a double-edged sword, a Canadian woman learned when an insurance company cut her health benefits, claiming she was healthy after seeing pictures of her smiling in a bikini at the beach.

Nathalie Blanchard, 29, took long-term sick leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, more than a year ago for severe depression. She was receiving monthly benefits from her insurance company, Manulife.

When Ms. Blanchard called Manulife to inquire why the payments dried up, the insurance company said that "I'm available to work, because of Facebook," she told CBC television.

She said that Manulife cited several pictures Ms. Blanchard had posted on her social-networking Web-site page, including some showing her enjoying herself during a male strip-tease show at a Chippendales bar, celebrating her birthday and sunbathing.

Based on these postings, the firm claimed Ms. Blanchard was no longer depressed.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Canada; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: disability; fraud
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To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla

I would love to see that statistic sourced.

My guess is that 25% CONTEMPLATE suicide. That’s a very, very big difference.


21 posted on 11/22/2009 4:57:47 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Hypocrisy: "Animal rightists" who eat meat & pen up their pets while accusing farmers of cruelty.)
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To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla

North Carolina had 58 influenza-associated deaths since April.

22 posted on 11/22/2009 5:08:57 AM PST by BerryDingle (I know how to deal with communists, I still wear their scars on my back from Hollywood-Ronald Reagan)
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To: LanaTurnerOverdrive

“Its never wise to spout off about something you know virtually nothing about. Most people learn that from their parents at a very early age.”

Standard argument technique perfected by liberals. Thomas Sowell spells it out very clearly in his book: “Inside American Education”. He basically says that the public school system uses it ALL THE TIME against parents that know something is wrong (i.e., we educators are the experts, so you SHUT UP).

But the bottom line is, whether education or ‘mental health’, that it is MY MONEY (be it taxes or insurance) and I have a RIGHT to have a say in how it is spent (and it is a boatload of money), whether or not I am a counselor or my cousin is a whack-job. So some of us will NOT be SILENCED by this technique.


23 posted on 11/22/2009 5:25:30 AM PST by BobL (Real Men don't use Tag Lines)
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To: sausageseller; AUH2O Repub; Lucius Cornelius Sulla; ConservativeMind
Bipolar I Disorder is one of the most severe forms of mental illness and is characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and (more often) depression. The condition has a high rate of recurrence and if untreated, it has an approximately 15% risk of death by suicide. It is the third leading cause of death among people aged 15-24 years, and is the 6th leading cause of disability (lost years of healthy life) for people aged 15-44 years in the developed world.

Source: http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-md02.html

24 posted on 11/22/2009 5:29:33 AM PST by Hardastarboard (Maureen Dowd is right. I DON'T like our President's color. He's a Red.)
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To: Hardastarboard

Recurrent episodes of mania? I’ve been known to act in a maniacal fashion. Perhaps I’m owed a living as well?

I wonder...200 years ago, what happened if you became just too sad to work? I guess you rotted in your cabin until some other lucky settler found your oh so sad corpse...I bet whatever sadness he was laboring under instantly dissipated once he saw that free cabin.


25 posted on 11/22/2009 5:35:03 AM PST by Spike Knotts
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To: AUH2O Repub

The fact is that bipolar and similar disorders are considered high enough risk and with a shortened life span that it can make a person virtually uninsurable. And I am talking about life insurance not just health insurance. So what kind of “double bull” is it when a person can’t buy life insurance?

There is SS disability fraud no doubt- but the reason there are lawyers is that applying for and getting SS disability is a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape for those that do qualify and want to apply.

You are so ignorant on the topics of discussion on this thread the least you can do is go get some facts before you spout off clueless generalities.


26 posted on 11/22/2009 5:38:19 AM PST by visualops (Freepin' Pre!)
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To: Hardastarboard

So your quote says that 15% of the people who are bi-polar MAY commit suicide? That’s a far cry from 25% DO commit suicide.

Now the question arises, how many of those that do commit suicide do so because of the drugs they take, instead of “in spite of” the drugs they take?


27 posted on 11/22/2009 5:39:45 AM PST by Turbo Pig (...to close with and destroy the enemy...)
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To: Hardastarboard; sausageseller; AUH2O Repub; Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Data from the United States on lifetime prevalence varies, but indicates a rate of around 1 percent for Bipolar I, 0.5 to 1 percent for Bipolar II or cyclothymia, and between 2 and 5 percent for subthreshold cases meeting some, but not all, criteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

So, between 0.5% and 1% of the population makes up these “Bipolar I” people and the subportion that commit suicide is 15%.

Fortunately, it's a pretty small (much smaller than alluded to earlier) number of people.

28 posted on 11/22/2009 5:41:36 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Hypocrisy: "Animal rightists" who eat meat & pen up their pets while accusing farmers of cruelty.)
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To: sausageseller


Very possibly not guilty!
29 posted on 11/22/2009 5:43:30 AM PST by Poser (Enjoying Prime Rib for 58 Years!)
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To: visualops

“So what kind of “double bull” is it when a person can’t buy life insurance?”

Are you laboring under the mistaken impression that life/health insurance is a right?

The kind of bull it sounds like is the “life” kind of bull. There are no guarantees on life, and nobody owes you a spot in a money multiplication scheme...aka insurance.

If *everyone* was insured without regard to risk, how in the hell could they still operate? Do you think your 200 dollars a month go to the insurance company where they perform some kind of magic and turn it into 1000 dollars? Insurance is playing the odds. It isn’t owed to you.

I can’t help but notice you haven’t started your own “perfect” insurance provider. You seem to have it all figured out...so when will your first agent open his doors?

“You are so ignorant on the topics of discussion on this thread the least you can do is go get some facts before you spout off clueless generalities.”

I can’t help but notice that despite his “ignorance” you were unable to answer his question. Where did the stat come from? Or is it ig’nant to ask someone to provide a source?

Did you know that 99 percent of all people who are depressed are responsible for their own lives?


30 posted on 11/22/2009 5:45:20 AM PST by Spike Knotts
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To: AUH2O Repub

I guess ignorance really is bliss.


31 posted on 11/22/2009 5:47:45 AM PST by wtc911 ("How you gonna get down that hill?")
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To: HiTech RedNeck

I don’t know this woman’s issues, but if she truly is unable to work and disability payments are at stake then she should not post photos of the times when she has gone out and done stuff.
What people have to realize is smiling or posing for photos does not really mean anything in and of itself. There are many reasons why someone may not be able to work full time or even part time consistently, ranging from sleep problems to medication side effects to just whether you can get through a whole day in a condition needed for being out in public.


32 posted on 11/22/2009 5:47:59 AM PST by visualops (Freepin' Pre!)
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To: All

to the ignorant about depression and bi-polar conditions.

I personally suffered from a severe long term depression and continue to need treatment from time to time. From personal experience depression is not “feeling too sad” to work. In fact at the height of my depression I worked more than 40 hours per week as a self-employed person. However, if I wasn’t self employed I would have been fired. I was unproductive despite being very busy.

You see the mind begins to process thoughts in a what I call circular reasoning. You start with a thought of something to do and then you go through a series of steps that end up concluding that you cannot yet do the thing you want to do.

After learning this process, I have become a much more effective counselor as a CPA. I often have to advise potential clients who have not filed back returns for several years. Almost invariably, the client that has not filed the returns suffers from depression. This is important because I cannot help the person out of financial distress until the root cause is treated.I often ask these folks to seek medical treatment concurrently while we work on the current financial difficulties.

As for bipolar, some of my most successful clients are bipolar. Their manic stage gives them the ability to take risks that most of us never do. For them the danger is the depressive cycle comes with self destructive behaviors which undo the progress they made while manic. For many, these folks recognize the sabotage their efforts and begin to withdraw from the world even when they are manic.


33 posted on 11/22/2009 5:50:37 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: visualops

Awww...well, tomorrow I’m going to show up for work and explain that I’m just too sleepy to work. Oh, and would you please pay me anyway? Thaaaankkksss...

Where do you people come from?


34 posted on 11/22/2009 5:51:00 AM PST by Spike Knotts
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To: Raycpa

So if you worked...what exactly is your point?

Do you want a sad check? Would some of my tax money make you feel better?


35 posted on 11/22/2009 5:51:50 AM PST by Spike Knotts
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To: Hardastarboard
Why did you choose to not underline “if untreated” that is an important modifier of the 15%

Was it 15% before treatment was available? Is is 15% for those who do not take their meds? Is it 15% only for those who are diagnosed and not taking their meds?

My personal opinion, work is therapeutic. Paying people not to work long term, is bad for the person, business and society as a whole.

36 posted on 11/22/2009 5:59:52 AM PST by dangerdoc
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To: Spike Knotts

I hope you never discover how devastating depression really is. I also suggest you refrain from commenting on a condition out of ignorance. Someday you will be very embarrassed to know just how dumb you sound.


37 posted on 11/22/2009 6:02:54 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: dangerdoc
My personal opinion, work is therapeutic.

It is actually a blessing from God. Adam and Eve were given work to do before the fall.

38 posted on 11/22/2009 6:04:55 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: Hardastarboard; sausageseller; AUH2O Repub; Lucius Cornelius Sulla; ConservativeMind
Bipolar I Disorder is one of the most severe forms of mental illness and is characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and (more often) depression. The condition has a high rate of recurrence and if untreated, it has an approximately 15% risk of death by suicide. It is the third leading cause of death among people aged 15-24 years, and is the 6th leading cause of disability (lost years of healthy life) for people aged 15-44 years in the developed world.

Better known as "Life sucks, get a F#$%ing helmet."

Just because you feel bad does not mean the rest of the world owes you a living. You have my sympathies that you life sucks; now suck it up and deal with it.

39 posted on 11/22/2009 6:08:23 AM PST by Centurion2000 (Only payoff for being a Democrat? They get the illusion that they are intellectually superior to you)
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To: Turbo Pig
So your quote says that 15% of the people who are bi-polar MAY commit suicide? That’s a far cry from 25% DO commit suicide.

Boy...some of you people really don't know how to read. You might need to go back to school and take some reading comprehension courses.

it has an approximately 15% risk of death by suicide. means that they DO commit suicide...that means they are SUCCESSFUL at it. 15% DO commit suicide and 25% DO commit suicide is not that big of a diff...especially when dealing with stats and the ranges usually involved.

According to studies from various organizations...JAMA...AMA...et al...an estimated 25-50% attempt it. % increasing if left untreated.

Now...as someone who has also sat in the ER a few times and watched a loved one (in-law) being pumped with charcoal so that they may live...if this is not been your experience in life...then of course...you can sit on your high-horse and think its over blown...and in a lot of case it probably is. In some cases it is for lack of a butt whipping when they were 6....and a butt kicking when they were 12. But it is a real disorder.

I guess ignorance is bliss. Wish I was still ignorant.

40 posted on 11/22/2009 6:16:27 AM PST by NELSON111
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