Costs...chicken or the egg

Lisa · 10-14-2005, 10:12 PM

My husband's company, through which we pay $700+/mo for health insurance through Aetna, has been trying to find a new insurance carrier for several reasons. But on each application has been "Do any of your employees or families have cancer?" Believe it or not, out of around 125 employees plus families, I'm the only one with cancer. So because the answer to the question is "Yes" they have been turned down by all. Legal? Moral? Flat our wrong??

So let's follow this trail. The insurance companies, who are now charging outrageous premiums to employees and paying less and less to doctors will NOT cover more than 200 people if ONE has cancer. The insurance companies are having to pay more for treatments due to doctors and hospitals increased costs. Doctors and hospitals are charging more because the drug manufacturers are charging more. Although they say they are charging more for research, former FDA officials have disagreed, saying most new drugs are simply new versions of old drugs. Marketing is where the big budgets are, not R& D.

Now don't get me wrong. I gotta love my chemo. And I'm very fortunate that my husband's job allows this treatment. But when he starts looking for a new job (very soon), the first question he will ask is "What is your healthcare coverage?" And will the company ask back, "Do you or any member of your family have cancer?"

So, where does this end? I guess the poor will get poorer and sicker and the rich will as well.

Love and light,

Lisa

tammymarie1971 · 10-14-2005, 10:18 PM

Lisa, That STINKS!!!!! Sorry I have no advice, Canada does things different, I will think of that next time I complain about our health care system!!!! Congrats on your good results I think, did you get a good feeling from them? It was hard to tell what you made out of them.
Love your smiling face in your picture!
Tammy

StephN · 10-14-2005, 11:59 PM

Dear Lisa -
You have hinted at these problems with medical in the past - but this is OVER the top!

I had thought it was ILLEGAL now to exclude someone because of preexisting condition, no matter what it was. Or is that only in my state? Or maybe that is if you change providers once your group is accepted.

I am sure you are looking at this through a fine tooth comb.

anne · 10-15-2005, 05:51 AM

Lisa,
I am sorry that you are running into this ins. dilema. When I was looking around for new ins. for my parents should my dad retire, I came across rejection after rejection. Some only because my mom was her2+.
I did find out that some states( the conciencious ones and that think about the well being of their citizens!) have high risk health pools which will provide ins. to you at a moderate cost if you have hx. of cancer. Unfortunately, Virginia is not one of them. I called the state rep and she said:" we are sorry but we can't help". This after being taxed for everything I can think of, as well as being a earning member of society. How unfair. But luckily, a lot of states do offer it. I forgot where you live, but I told my parents maybe they could move to a neighbouring state if they need to

. I think we need to do some lobbing in this area because it is the middle class that suffers.

PS: glad to hear you are doing well on Gemzar

XOXO
Anne

al from Canada · 10-15-2005, 06:33 AM

Lisa,
As if you don't have enough to contend with. I hope someone can bring some plausible solutions to the table...don't loose that love and light,
Al

RhondaH · 10-15-2005, 04:44 PM

Lisa,

I could say SO much on the subjuct, but will limit it. When my company announced yesterday that it was eliminating all the HMO's we have (the one I have has been a blessing and my only cost has been my $20 copays for doctor visits and $30 copay for the Emend when I was on chemo). In their letter they said "only 60% of the companies in the US offer health insurance" (basically, be thankful you have anything). They are replacing it with an Aetna HMO and other Aetna basic med's. I am going to talk to my onc nurse on Thurs and have her do some research as to which one (if any) will cover my Herceptin...otherwise I don't know what I will do, I will have 10 more treatments for my "year". I look at the companies like Delphi here in Michigan that are saying that they need to drop their employees hourly wage (including insurance, vacation etc) from $65 to $15 per hour...this CERTAINLY will not include insurance. If all the companies are eliminating insurance for the employees then who is going to continue to support the research and development for the new drugs for people to use to keep the drug companies in business...your SO right Lisa, which came first the chicken or the egg.
Good luck Lisa,

Rhonda Hoffman

Kim in CA · 10-15-2005, 05:18 PM

Dear Lisa,

This insurance stuff is really the pitts! My husband is loosing his job after nearly 30 years, as the company is going out of business. He has been offered another job, but it will be as an independent contractor, so no benefits will be offered. California does have a high risk insurance pool, but there is a waiting list, and I found out that there is an annual limit of $75,000. That amount will barely cover the costs of my Herceptin, and with my recent brain mets, there is just no way! On top of all that, the premiums for the two of us(we are both considered high risk, because he has high blood pressure) are over $1400 a month.

We are still trying to sort things out, but we may end up having to move to another state just so we can afford to get insurance. I was born and raised in California, so it would be hard to leave our friends and family, but things are just so expensive here!

It all just makes my head spin! Think I'll go eat some chocolate!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Kim

Lolly · 10-15-2005, 09:21 PM

It SHOULD be illegal, but apparently not, as when I applied for insurance back in '99 before dx, I put on the application that I had an undiagnosed breast lump, and was turned down. But, I WAS able to get into Oregon's High Risk Pool, and my understanding of the risk pool's is that generally there's a six month waiting period before any pre-existing condition is covered. I know, you can rack up a lot of expenses in six months. It is just criminal that we don't have a national health care system. Sometimes our supposedly civilized nation seems more and more like a third world country. Just my 2 cents.

<3,
Lolly