I heard the testimony given at a recent senate hearing on a policy called Rescission by Health Insurance Companies. The first testimony was by a woman who had her health insurance for many years having paid her premiums for many years and her Insurance company accepted these premiums. They had the option of not issuing insurance to her in the first place. However, they did issue a policy to her and went along happily taking her money and having very small payout, making lots of money off her. Then one day she comes down with invasive breast cancer involving both her breasts. Her doctor wanted her to have bilateral mastectomies ASAP. They were scheduled for the next week. In the next couple days before she went into the hospital she was told by her insurance company they were canceling her health insurance policy. They broke their explicit contract they had with her. They said she lied on her policy. It turns out she had been diagnosed by a
Dermatologist with
dermatitis. They claimed this was a precancerous condition and she had lied on her application when she had said she never had cancer or a precancerous
lesion. The
dermatologist spoke with the insurance company and told them this was acne and completely benign condition and not a
pre-cancerous
lesion. The insurance company still refused to re-establish her insurance. She could not afford to pay the 10's of thousands of dollars the hospital required to let her have the surgery.
Finally after 5 or 6 months she got the
decision reversed but she now had a much more advanced cancer that
metastasized to her lymph nodes. She is much more likely to die because of this.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of California( not even the largest insurer in Ca.) rescinded 20,000 policy holders over a five year period. This can be extrapolated to hundreds of thousands losing their policy when most vulnerable. Leading to untold pain, suffering and deaths. But hey, they had to protect their profits. When asked if a client did not intentionally lie would they stop rescission all the Insurance CEO's said no they would not. however they would continue to take their clients money.
Half of the people in the United States between Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans services, are insured by the federal government. In 45 years not a single person has had their insurance rescinded by the feds.
This is criminal and should be banned. If there is no allowance for insurance companies to deny people insurance for pre-existing conditions then this will never happen. Rise up and revolt against rescission for you may be the next insured person that finds out on the doorstep of the hospital that you suddenly have no insurance, ending up either bankrupt or dead. RIP.
