HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Legal Issues? For a Possible Project forIndividuals and Families Impacted by Cancer

Lani · 02-18-2007, 05:17 PM

you should look up Gina's post regarding how her filing for Medicare disability impacted her health insurance, disability issues, etc

As I recall, being a small business owner she could not get/keep health insurance, once she got Medicare disability her insurance company wanted to be paid back and once she earned more than Medicare said she should (out of financial hardship with her own company, Medicare came after her to repay as well.

Issues you may not have listed include--how to keep insurance for those who are self employed and small business owners ie, if they can't work or close the business they lose their insurance and are insurable, disability issues (both Medicare, state and private) and insurance companies who just decide to drop individuals or small groups when one member gets cancer (a friend got dropped by his health insurance company when he developed prostate cancer when they claimed he had lied about a history of preexisting problems HE DID NOT HAVE AND WHICH HIS MEDICAL RECORDS SHOWED HE DID NOT HAVE)

I have read articles in the Wall St. Journal wherein drug companies who are making lots of money on drugs developed under the Orphan Drug Law are paying the premiums of patients through a charity they surrupticiously fund as the premiums cost a lot less than the profit the drug company makes on the patient who depends on these drugs for life for their lifetime.

I would hope that you could find funding from Genentech to provide legal services for those whose insurance companies are trying to drop them as Genentech supplies the drugs for free for those without insurance, but makes a lot of money on those with insurance.

You might like to network with Cynthia who lives in Washington DC and is an attorney who was interested in lobbying and other activities to help breast cancer patients.

Hope this gives you some ideas. I think each state should pass a law making it illegal for insurance companies to drop patients with cancer (other than simple nonmelanoma skin cancers) and illegal for them to charge them any increase in premium other than the general rate of inflation/with perhaps the government making up the rest or providing them with a tax benefit.

02-18-2007, 05:17 PM	#2
Lani Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4,783	Shannon you should look up Gina's post regarding how her filing for Medicare disability impacted her health insurance, disability issues, etc As I recall, being a small business owner she could not get/keep health insurance, once she got Medicare disability her insurance company wanted to be paid back and once she earned more than Medicare said she should (out of financial hardship with her own company, Medicare came after her to repay as well. Issues you may not have listed include--how to keep insurance for those who are self employed and small business owners ie, if they can't work or close the business they lose their insurance and are insurable, disability issues (both Medicare, state and private) and insurance companies who just decide to drop individuals or small groups when one member gets cancer (a friend got dropped by his health insurance company when he developed prostate cancer when they claimed he had lied about a history of preexisting problems HE DID NOT HAVE AND WHICH HIS MEDICAL RECORDS SHOWED HE DID NOT HAVE) I have read articles in the Wall St. Journal wherein drug companies who are making lots of money on drugs developed under the Orphan Drug Law are paying the premiums of patients through a charity they surrupticiously fund as the premiums cost a lot less than the profit the drug company makes on the patient who depends on these drugs for life for their lifetime. I would hope that you could find funding from Genentech to provide legal services for those whose insurance companies are trying to drop them as Genentech supplies the drugs for free for those without insurance, but makes a lot of money on those with insurance. You might like to network with Cynthia who lives in Washington DC and is an attorney who was interested in lobbying and other activities to help breast cancer patients. Hope this gives you some ideas. I think each state should pass a law making it illegal for insurance companies to drop patients with cancer (other than simple nonmelanoma skin cancers) and illegal for them to charge them any increase in premium other than the general rate of inflation/with perhaps the government making up the rest or providing them with a tax benefit.