The Joys of Private Health Insurance

[chris_gerrib]

So, I read an article this morning about a woman, a free-lance journalist, who bought private health insurance. She specifically looked for a policy that covered maternity care, and, with difficulty, found one. After she had her baby, she found out that the policy had a maximum cap of $3,000 on maternity care! ETA A disclosure buried in one appendix of a multi-page booklet on maternity coverage. Frankly, in some states, that would be consumer fraud. end edit

As she asked, after being left with a $22,000 bill, "in what mythical US hospital can you have a baby for $3,000?" Then, six months later, after she called the insurance company's press office to announce she was writing an article about her experiences, they suddenly decided to cover 90% of the costs. Consider this reason number 6,539 why we need health insurance reform in America. Go read the whole thing.

ETA One of the many things included in this reform package are "health care exchanges." These exchanges force a standardized disclosure of benefits (AKA, "no more hiding shit in fine print"). Consumer disclosures matter. (If you tell me you've read every page of the contract your credit card company sends you, I'll buy you a beer.) Another valuable reform, also mentioned in the article, is the removal of the pre-existing condition exclusion.

Comments

[chris-gerrib.livejournal.com]

I do not trust politicians to reform anything without a lot of monkey business and shenanigans. Neither do I. But this is a problem that can only be fixed by political action. So we try to fix it with the system we have, not the system we wish we had.

Tell you what - suggest a charity and I'll send them a few bucks in lieu of the beer I owe you. I got a bit cranky with some of my responses today.

[bdunbar.livejournal.com]

But this is a problem that can only be fixed by political action. So we try to fix it with the system we have, not the system we wish we had.

I see where you are coming from. But ... you know what this is like?

Time travel movie. Our Hero made a whoopsie in the past and now his girlfriend is a crack whore. What's does he do? Why .. he goes back in a heroic bid to make it better. Great story.

I'm the guy in the theater yelling 'You dumb schmuck - you're just going to make it worse. Quit messing around.'

So that's where I'm coming from. It's bad, perhaps. It could always be a lot worse.

Tell you what - suggest a charity

Boys and Girls Club of America. They thank you kindly.