A Chance To Act To Keep Cancer Patients Insurance Coverage

[Lani]

After reading Chelee's post on the $9 million award to bc patient whose insurance dropped her I would like to suggest that we try to contact our state representatives (insurance in the US is regulated at the state and not the federal level for some inexplicable reason --makes it easier for the insurance company to get away with abhorrent behavior!) to suggest a limited law (to be expanded later) which I think even the lobbyists would be embarassed to be found out fighting against:

To make it illegal for an insurance company to stop covering any insured who has cancer (except squamous and basal cell cancer of the skin) until and if that patient qualifies for Medicare coverage (usually two years after a positive decision is made for Medicare disability).

As most everyone knows a friend or family member with cancer and as a substantial number of people are likely to develop cancer in their lifetime, I think it will be difficult to for a state representative to vote against such a
policy (hopefully it will get extended for diabetes, MS, ALS, etc in the future and eventually to every disease)

Cynthia? Is this up your alley?


More difficult, as it will take economists to figure out the costs/cost shifting:
They should also be limited to charging the amount of the coverage plus a cost of living increase, utiilizing increases in the cost of the policy of noncancer patients with the policy as cancer patients who may or may not be working will likely not be able to shoulder the 25% or MORE premium cost increases occuring yearly with many insurances OR the government should provide help paying the premium increases. Eventually the government may act as a reinsurer (insuring the insurer against unexpectedly large costs) for those with catastrophic diseases.

Getting the federal government to shorten the period for Medicare qualification will be more difficult. There are programs for the NEWLY diagnosed to get them Medicaid coverage more quickly...but not for those who are not newly diagnosed ie, those who have had insurance coverage, but then get dumped.

Food not just for thought, but hopefully also for ACTION!

[Jackie07]

I posted a reply just now, but it did not go through - just vanished. I am retyping it here, probably in three installment - just in case.

Are we ready to elect either Hillary or Obama for universal health insurance? (Let's not go there - I am not trying to start any political fight here.)

Just wanto to share with y'al some of my horror stories dealing with the insurance company.

[Jackie07]

We received a bill of $26,500 from the insurance company of my previous employer in mid January. After I called both insurance companies and look at my current insurance card, my heart sank. There is a gap between the two during October, 2007. We are gonna have to pay the money back in installment.

While I was waiting for my husband to come home and was fuming over the whole thing - he had told me that he had taken care of the insurance situation, but now was telling me that we'd just them little by little the rest of our life if we indeed wasn't covered - I happened to find his old insurance card in the drawer (full of old receits, cards, all kinds of 'useless' junk). We had received replacement cards after we had chosen our primary physicians. The card in my purse had the starting date of 10-26-2007, but the card in the drawer had the starting date of 10-01-2007. I had cut my old one (as instructed) when I put the new one in my purse. Of course, they just made a mistake because of the new date.

Jack got on the phone and talk very, very politely to the insurance staff of the hospital. About a week later, we received the new bill. It was $703.00 for the copayment. That we can handle. But what a scare! I was just about ready to get a divorce - ("how could he do this to me? He had assured me that he had taken care of...")