Get sick and need to use it.
This story was passed on to me, and left me disturbed and angry. The problem with insurance and health care is not just with the uninsured, or the under-insured, but is very real even for those with the best insurance policies.
The idea behind insurance is, of course, that we pay a modest (hopefully) amount of money into the system when we are well so that if/when we become sick we are able to draw on the insurance to cover our expenses. What we’re finding out, as this story suggests is that insurance companies are taking our money when we are well, only to find a way, either directly or indirectly, to cancel our policies or find a way not to pay. To me this is a breech of contract, if not legally, than ethically and the companies, their executives, shareholders, and employees should be ashamed. That money, that extra profit, comes at the cost of inflicting death and suffering on people who in good faith have been paying into the system.
Bottom line: Get a serious disease, like cancer, and your insurance company will massively increase your rates, effectively bouncing you out of the system. A diagnosis of cancer, or other similar disease, means your insurance company will send you or your spouse’s employer (if you care covered through them) a rate increase of $1,000,000 per year. What this means is that small business (who can’t afford the increase) are forced to either drop insurance coverage for all of their employees, get rid of you, or go out of business. Large businesses that can technically absorb the cost simply find a way to get rid of you. So you become uninsured and unemployable (by any company that offers health insurance because, when you come on their plan with that diagnosis their rates jump up $1,000,000 per year). The only way out of this vicious cycle in our society is to go broke and get on Medicare (if you’re old enough) or Medicaid (if you’re not).
Disgusting, deplorable, and wrong! Read the post, get angry, and let’s do something to change the system. Whether you believe in public insurance, private insurance, single payer, or something else, one thing is clear, the system, the way it is, cannot continue!
Read the story here.
What are your thoughts? What do you think we should do to fix this? We’d love to hear from you. Please feel welcome to post your comments below.