California Health Insurers Must Reinstate Policies

Health insurance

1) Why would people lie on their applications, as the insurance companies claim?

To get insurance, of course!

2) The insurance companies say they rescind less than 1% of their customers. I wonder what percent they rescind of their customers who need expensive health care?

We need single-payer insurance which covers all Americans. It would be cheaper per capita than what we are paying now. The insurance companies are digging their own graves with their unethical behavior.

I worked for a big health insurance company as a file clerk and read the files. That's when I started to believe they were evil.

McCain's Health Care Proposal

McCain thinks that a family can buy health insurance for $5000.00? What planet does he live on? Any family health premiums where I live are over two times that amount, which means that what McCain proposes is a tax-increase for those of us who have coverage and an unusable tax-break for the rest of us. Typical of the Republicans, who don't worry themselves with folks who can't get health insurance.

Health Care

There is something fundamentally morally wrong with a society that allows profit to be made from people getting sick. It turns the health profession into a swarm of circling vultures. Should health care be free? Probably not, given our current culture. But there must be a giddy psychic somewhere so that we can find a happy medium.

Healthcare

Health care, as a for profit buisness, will not provide what Americans need.

Living and Dying isn't a part of monolopy, why is it part of Wall St?

Shareholders do not have PHD's in medicine. Why do we let them dictate our treatment options?

I might be a little overly liberal about this but, corporatism has failed us this time.

FedCare!

Yes, of course, let's have national health care! Because putting overwhelming power in the hands of politicians and arrogant, accountable-to-no-one civil servants always the best route to humane and efficient services -- just look at the Post Office and the IRS!

What we have now is a patchwork that is often expensive, inefficient, and even heartless. But when it comes to waste, ineptitude, and sheer brutal inhumanity, an mere insurance company cannot begin to compete with the U.S. government. Ever try to straighten out a misunderstanding with a government agency? Think that's going to be different when the feds get control of health care?

That said, although only 5 percent of insurance buyers buy privately, and their problems must be managed. I agree that McCain's approach, absent regulation, won't help nearly enough, since it doesn't address cherry-picking and these disgusting rescission games. But there are a lot of interim steps that can be taken before handing life-and-death decisions for all of us to the feds.

(And I do have some standing to talk about this: I was uninsured, with a serious chronic illness, for a dozen years, and had to get my health care from county facilities. So I know *exactly* what government health care is like -- which is more than most people who are all starry-eyed about the idea can say.)

Health Insurance

Ok, McCain plans on us paying for insurance, 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. My company is too small, we would lose. McCain does not care, none of the government does, they have perfect health coverage, so to them cutting something means absolutly nothing to them. Let them live off of what we make and then on top of it all pay for insurance that when they don't like what is coming at them, they cancel you. Americans need to take back their government. We for too long have let them tell us what is best for us, I think America is going down in flames because of this thinking. They are all crooks, and we elected them...

I think this is common

When this happened to my mother-in-law, we talked to a consumer protection advocate who said this practice is common. As long as you don't need expensive treatment, they couldn't care less if you flat out lied on your application - it's free money for them. Applicants only get audited when they need expensive treatment. And they will use the most bizarre interpretations of things to deny your claims.

In my mother-in-law's case, she went to the doctor in 2001 complaining of stomach pain. The doctor did some exams and prescribed some medication for controling stomach acid. Two years later, after her huband retired and they were under a self-pay policy, it was discovered she had liver cancer. The insurance denied her treatment under the pre-existing condition clause. But the pre-existing condition clause only applies to conditions which the patient *knew* they had prior to enrolling. When we challenged the insurance company's denial, they used the rationale that, and I quote, because she had saught treatment 2 years earlier for stomach pain, "she knew she had *something*". This, even though they could provide no evidence that her previous stomach pain was even related to her cancer. We faught in court, and eventually won, but by that time too much time had gone by and the cancer had progressed too far to save her.

What about HIV

What about otherwise healthy people with HIV? It is impossible for anyone to get coverage, except group coverage where you can't be denied. Left to a market economy and various "qualifying" criteria, those of us living and working with HIV will be left without coverage completely. Only those that living at poverty status qualify for HIV funded government programs because of predatory insurance policies. The rest of us with decent jobs, albeit not rich, are forced to spend thousand of dollars per prescription per month in multi-drug regiments. How is anyone expected to live comfortably with medications representing more than 50% of our monthly income and no insurance? If you make a decent wage, you don't qualify for public medical assistance. If you do qualify it's because you are forced to bankrupt your savings, and live at poverty status before you do. Is this what the republican party considers the greatest healthcare system in the world? Contract HIV and find out where all the gaps are like I did!

When Taiwan has better healthcare at half our cost, something's wrong

That's what's wrong with conservatism. It's inherently about not leading and breaking new ground and solutions, but trying to stay with the status quo as long as possible. Got an economic crisis? Tax cuts. No health care? Tax cuts. Nation's in debt and stopped growing? Tax cuts we can't afford.

Blind ideology aside, if folks think more of the same is what we need right now at this moment, as the rest of the world surpass us with new solutions that prudently partner government with market to solve people's problems, vote Republican. You'll get more of the same - which is to say nothing will change. Just don't blame the Democrats now for all the bullcrap mess we're in. Considering that Republicans have been at reckless at the steering wheel for more then a decade now.

Otherwise, vote Democrat - for reason, fact-based and practical governance. A party that isn't stuck in ideology bubble that is in denial and cuts the nation off from reality and facts.

Great Example Of Why California Is So Screwed Up!

Let's see if I get this straight - people lie to insurance companies in order to get insurance and then whine and cry when they get caught. And California legislatures think that it's the insurance companies fault?

What a bunch of idiots!

INSURANCE AND TAXES

Sen McCain's idea to give a tax credit for people to buy insurance ties togeather two things that most Americans distrust and dread. It's a bad idea. We need a flat tax , everyone contributes evenly and those of us in the middle class are not carrying the rich and poor. And we need to change our health insurance system so that it is not a for profit venture.

Thanks, I feel better now.

as a former underwriting assistant

To deny, deny, deny...no matter what...for treatment for everyday illnesses such as the flu - to making sure we didn't cover you when you were really sick with heart disease, hbp, or thyroid diseases etc etc.. is exactly what they do. Insurance companies have forgotten that they were created to make life easier and to STREAMLINE the health market.....oops.....that went horribly wrong now didn't it. Simpleplan.com.....if more doctors would join and more patients would join we could have lower priced health insurance that was how we wanted it and not the insurance companies...As soon as a doctor in Minnesota/Wisconsin signs up..my family will be thier first patients....

Hillary Care Makes It Worse

These are the same companies Hillary wants to force Americans to depend on for ALL their medical care. Under Hillary Care, if you refuse to pay the insurance companies, regardless of whether they refuse to cover your medical condition, she'll have her stormtroopers confiscate your property and put you in jail until you agree to pay up.

there is insurance and then there is insurance

This problem has too many facets for a sweeping declaration ("what we need here is...") to fix it. On the surface, you have doctors and hospitals billing more per hour and per procedure than ever before. Look deeper and you have medical malpractice lawyers suing the doctors and hospitals for more than ever before. Then you have med-mal insurance companies (that protect doctors from malpractice claims) charging doctors and hospitals more than ever before. Look in any direction and you see costs rising. The product liability insurance for invasive medical instruments is always on the rise - because the manufacturers of the instruments are always being sued, often for more than they are worth. Sometimes these cost-factors rise because the people who are in the group that needs low-cost healthcare are suing the providers and cashing out with million-dollar settlements. A few people getting multi-million dollar settlements in court might raise the cost of healthcare to a level that is beyond the reach of 1,000 other people. And that is a conservative estimate. To solve the problem, you have to fix the legal system, which helps to fix the insurance situation (for medical malpractice and product liability at least) and then you can start fixing hospitals, doctors, and individual health policies.

Health insurance

National health care is the only rational solution. Eliminate the insurance companies and the cost of health care is reduced by 20% or more. Cover all patients and the cost per patient is significantly less. Under the current system all the expensive care is paid under Medicaid and Medicare, The insurance companies cherry pick the healthy and if you have expensive claims they dump you. Health-care should be decoupled from employment. Presently many individuals are forced to stay in terrible jobs solely to maintain their insurance. The worst situation is for the 45 million uninsured who delay getting health care and then have to enter the system through the most expensive portal, the ER. Their care is delayed and their morbidity and mortality are correspondingly increased. Approximaetly 65% of primary care providers believe National Health Care is the only solution. For the overpaid specialists only 40% believe it is the solution. No real surprises there. The best model for national health care seems to be the Taiwanese system as reviewed by NPR. It costs about 8% of GNP. It allows choice and access is easy. We are rapidly becoming one of the worst health care systems of the industrialized west and we are spending about 16% of GNP. The money is not going to patient care. With a national health care system there will have to be some compromises, however, I doubt they would be as bad as the present situation that millions of uninsured and under insured Americans now face with virtually no health care. Something like 50% of bankruptcies prior to the housing melt down were due to medical costs. IHC the UT charitable medical system is responsible for about 50% of the bankrutpcies in UT. we need to accept that the corporate business model is not the appropriate model for health-care. The incentives are not to provide the best care but to make the most money.

There oughta be a law...

Oh wait, there is!

Several states have passed laws recently that allow for treble damages on the part of insurance companies that terminate coverage for crappy reasons.

Health care should not be tied to one's job!

The only impressive idea here is that it's totally screwed up to gum up the entire economy by tying health care to a job. People cannot change jobs or strike out on their own to expand the economy because insurance is tied to a stupid job.

Ultimately the employee pays anyway. Wages are simply lowered to accommodate the cost of coverage. Having businesses pay for coverage simply hides the cost. Hiding costs in the health-care market and preventing movement in the job market harms both.

I've not bought into government health care kool-aid (because government can't seem to do anything well anywhere ever) but it does seem that we cannot have a workable market until we even the playing field. Markets are all about legal frameworks providing competition along acceptable lines.

I would like to see a market where everyone is required to be self-insured and where insurers compete with price/benefits packages they offer to all. They should not be allowed to either deny or drop customers -- nor vary rates beyond a reasonable healthy-lifestyle incentive. In such a market, the cost of health insurance would be approximately the average cost of health care provided.

Such a system would keep costs explicit, and provide some level of choice between varying insurance packages.

health care = expense

I come from 2 angles . 1. being able to buy coverage (bcbs) until the premiums hit 1,900 a month for family of 7. Children 4 & 5 essentially free ... 2. Myself having 1 lung and asthma since day 2 of life . Because of that last factor , I have always taken only the very best care of myself , because I learned very young , that life can be very short , or long . Living long , very ill is worse than death . Now that the kids are grown , we know longer care to have premium coverage , due to the fact that it's no longer a need , and we don't care to live until the machine is turned OFF . There isn't a person alive , worth the millions it costs to keep their heart beating , when there are healthy , active people who are able to live productive , happy lives . But at the same time , can't afford basic medical care ... We now keep a policy with a 5,800 deductible and we will only use this for catastrophic occur.. Our premiums have gone up ,, NOT because of OUR health ,, but because we pay for morbid obesity , damage done by smokers be it first hand or second , and those who just don't give a damn about themselves or anyone else . If you deem your self worthy of such medical care ,,, YOU had better be able to afford it YOURSELF !! Otherwise , LIVE till you die !! THAT is how nature intended .

National Health Care

Have not yet seen any comments on the health care provided for government workers including politicians that hold office. All the military get health care provided by the government. Medicare is a form of national health care. Our family has seen premiums for two adults climb to $17000 per year. Self insured companies can deny claims anytime they do not want to pay a claim. They do not come under the state insurance bureau laws. Personally have had this happen twice with self insured companies providing policies to employees. I feel that if tax payers can afford to provide health care to politicians, then we should at least get the same health care access to us.

Messed up health care!

Well, we all know that US health care is all messed up. Either the health insurance industry needs to be regulated or nationalized.

Health Care

We cannot isolate ourselves and say those who are rich enough or healthy enough can take care of themselves and the rest be darned. There is no one among us who can expect to live free of any accidents, epidemics or birth deformities except with phenomenol good luck. We are all dependent upon living in a generally healthy population for our own good health -- or haven't you traveled by air recently or slept in a motel bed? What if you have a family member with Alzheimer's who lives for 15 years or a child with MS or a wife with long-term cancer? Aren't we all better off for keeping the family that is facing such astronomical problems at least covered for their medical bills? Or should we just dump the unhealthy and weak among us and when that doesn't cut costs enough, we'll look into DNA tests and dump those who have the possiblity of future diseases, and ...

WE need universal, single payer health care for preventive, basic and catastrophic medical care. It would prove a huge boost to the nation economically in savings on lost work-time, spread of diseases, lack of preventive care, etc. Our hospitals and health centers must become non-profit again and rededicated to human dignity and health. If all the other major countries can do it, what's wrong with the U.S.? Greed, lack of compassion and stupidity. Let's quit warring around the globe and use that money to provide health care -- not elective care like botox treatments, but any care that keeps us healthy physically and mentally. If every citizen paid $1000 a year for a health care card, we could cover basic and catastrophic care.

Health Care

National Health Care for everyone is better than nothing at all. Millions of people are uninsured. The millions wind up in overcrowded Emergency Rooms receiving urgent care in lieu of preventive care. Guess who picks up the tab? We all do. So why not do the right thing to begin with? Prevent the child from having asthma with National Healthcare in lieu of the asthma attack that may lead to death.

I know this as I am a nurse.

Cancelled policy

My coverage was canceled by one company. None would extend coverage. I went on a Colorado state covered plan for 6 months. Nothing was wrong. I had responded honestly. The denying company interpreted some test as an omission on my part.

Six months later, I faxed all the papers from the hospital to another national insurance company which has provided coverage for 4 years.

First the scare of being "not covered" is overwhelming, second, the outrage of being told you are lying angers you, last, the time and expense to go through the search for someone to provide coverage is stressful.

We should be thriving for a better system, and we are.

McCain and health care

I though Sen McCain was an honorable man. NO MORE. All he wants to do is destroy group health coverage, which cannot be denied for existing conditions, so the companies do not have to pay.

And when you look at the cost of medical insurance, the $2500 credit is like nothing. When I retired at 57, one of my options was converting my group health insurance to private, for which they wanted $30,000 per year.

And now at 68, my health insurance under medicare costs me $3400/year, and only because the govt subsidizes the hospital portion almost totally.

So McCain is just another tool of the super-rich, who would destroy the middle class for the profits of big business which has bought lock, stock and barrel the republican party.

Sorry, McCain, not a chance. You appear to just be a part of the Republican party which whose god is named Greed. And to think I voted for them all my life until I saw through GWB. One would also think Mr. McCain, that given what you endured in North Vietnam for years and years as a prisoner, you would stand up against gthe republican party and the idiotic criminal war based on mis-information and lies, thanks to GWB. What's the matter - the money from the military industrial complex to your party has corrupted you also?

Health Care Costs

It would seem that if all the people who are maligning health care insurance companies should invest in stock in these insurance companies and make a bundle of money. I am sorry but there is so much fraud on the part of people who want something for nothing and medical providers who overcharge and commint fraud. I see ads every day like the companies who promise they will deliver an electric cart and not to worry becuase if they cannnot get an insurance company to pay for it they will give it to you for nothing. And, then there are the ambulance chasers who pander to the shady side of many who also run the costs up. If anyone thinks that health insurance is so lucrative he/she should start his/her own company. Or, let the government pay for it. These people don't know they are the government. Unless, of course, they cheat on their taxes too and expect honest people to pick up the tab. We now have three U.S. Senators who have had ample opportunity to fix the problem. Let's see the fixes that any one of them has made. Zilch! Nada! But, they can speak against the "government," conveniently forrgetting that they have been running the "government."