Anyone know how many people are denied coverage due to pre-existing....

[slipslidingaway]

conditions, I had heard a figure of 5 million.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. OHw on earth do insurance companies find out about

pre-existing conditions, is what i want to know, esp. for people who have not had insurance before.
Aren't medical records supposed to be confidential?

[Cleita]

5. Lots of ways, but mainly the patients themselves because they hang a threat

over them that says their insurance can be canceled at any time or there can be a denial of claims if you lie on the application.

[slipslidingaway]

6. Good question. n/t

[subterranean]

16. Yes and no.

Yes, they are confidential, but insurance companies usually require you to authorize the release of your medical records before they will issue a policy. (This mainly applies to individual policies, not group insurance.)

[Cleita]

3. I believe everybody, or they get a high premium slapped on them.

Years ago you could get coverage except for any medical condition that you might have that is chronic. I don't know when they stopped that in favor of just denying you coverage for anything. However, even that is wrong, because they are denying you health care for a medical condition when it's needed. Profit needs to be taken out of health care dollars IMHO. I'm not talking about the individual practitioner. He is entitled to a modest profit for this investment in time and education. I'm talking about the profit from the parasitic middle men insurers who contribute nothing to health care but obstruction and paper work.

[slipslidingaway]

9. Mr recollection as well, Wendell Potter said that in the early 90's the medical...

loss ratio was around 95%, in an effort to increase profits it has dropped at least 10 points. Hard to increase profits and cover the sick.

:(

[babylonsister]

4. 12.6 million, roughly, during the past 3 years...

Lots of info in here...

http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/report-millions-denied-insurance-coverage-for-preexisting-medical-conditions.aspx?googleid=268892

snip//

The report, called “Coverage Denied: How the Current Health Insurance System Leaves Millions Behind,” uses previously published data from American Heart Association, Commonwealth Fund and Kaiser Family Foundation, among other sources, to highlight insurance industry practices.

12.6 million Non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to obtain insurance directly from companies in the individual insurance market – were denied coverage during the last three years, charged higher premiums or refused coverage for a pre-existing condition, according to a recent national survey.

Another survey found 1 in 10 people with cancer could not get health coverage, and 6 percent lost coverage due to their diagnosis.

The practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions – a medical condition that existed before some applies or enrolls in a new health insurance policy – is not confined to only serious diseases; it can also include relatively minor conditions such as asthma or a previous sports injury.

Moreover, when patients are diagnosed with expensive conditions, (i.e. cancer or heart disease) come companies respond by reviewing the patient’s initial health insurance application. In most states individual insurance market insurers can retroactively revoke the policy for any undisclosed condition, no matter how minor, even if the person was unaware of the illness at that time. Coverage can also be rescinded for the patient’s family members, if they failed to disclose a medical condition. This practice is referred to as rescission.

Read more: http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/report-millions-denied-insurance-coverage-for-preexisting-medical-conditions.aspx?googleid=268892#ixzz0XcJ2dxZP

[slipslidingaway]

10. Thanks for the link, the figure I heard could have been an average annual...

figure. It is a shame that we are willing to leave more than that number behind without any insurance.

[SanddancerUSA]

7. 5,000,001 when my COBRA runs out.

[slipslidingaway]

11. This is the trade off the insurance companies wanted, mandates for covering...

everyone, why we let the for profit dictate the terms is beyond me.

[prolesunited]

15. Count me in that group as well

along with my husband.

[Still Blue in PDX]

8. I'm holding my breath to see if I get a yea or nay.

I have reached whatever magic age where my employer's long-term disability carrier wants proof of insurability for the coming year. I'm in good health, but I'm not perfect! Wish I had signed up years ago but always just opted for the short-term.

[slipslidingaway]

12. Wishing you luck! nt

[Hamlette]

13. they will also only cover a condition for a certain amount of time

at least some of them

I was diagnosed with a problem, there was no pre-existing clause in my insurance so the surgery should have been covered BUT my doctor told me to wait as long as I possibly could before I had the surgery. I waited 6 months. When the hospital bill came, they covered my bill until midnight the day I checked into the hospital (back in the day when you checked in the day before surgery). The next day, the day of the surgery, nada...and nothing else.

I was only 22 and on crutches after the surgery but I was pissed. It was through my college so I kept going up the line, head of student health couldn't help, I went to each VP, they couldn't help, finally I went to the prez of the University. He called the president of the insurance company on the Friday I was in his office and I had a check the next Monday! Delivered to my house from a national insurance company. Professor Emery from Utah. If your family is out there, he were the best!

Unfortunately, that was in a time when there was competition in insurance carriers. The university prez threatened to go to a different company. And a ton of luck. (I still can't believe I was that gutsy. I would not be turned away. When I was told some VP could not see me I'd say "well I just sit here and wait until he can." ha ha Would never work now.

[slipslidingaway]

14. Interesting and glad it worked out in the end :) nt

[Peacetrain]

17. My brother was for sleep apnea of all the crazy things

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8590485

[slipslidingaway]

24. Nuts, so why do we let these people get a seat at the table, what value...

do they add to health care - nothing!

[kestrel91316]

18. I suppose we will find out soon enough, lol, once they ar again allowed to buy affordable insurance.

[slipslidingaway]

25. And I guess we'll find out what is meant by affordable, some people just....

over the subsidy levels will be paying 20% of their income for premiums, add out of pocket expenses and there will not be much left.

[kestrel91316]

33. I will probably get SOME subsidy, but my rent is such a huge portion of my takehome that

I have no idea how I can shell out a DIME.

[slipslidingaway]

34. Not sure if you have tried the premium/subsidy calculator at the Kaiser site...

for an estimate of what might be.


http://healthreform.kff.org/SubsidyCalculator.aspx

"Note: Subsidies are only available for people purchasing coverage on their own in the Exchange (not through an employer). All individuals and families with incomes at or below 133% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for Medicaid. Others with higher incomes may also be eligible, depending on rules that vary by state."

[Kaleva]

19. I was denied life insurance because of blood clots

[Cha]

20. I'm sorry..have

you been able to get any since then?

[Kaleva]

21. Had to wait a year but have a policy now.

[Cha]

22. That's good!

[slipslidingaway]

26. Happy to hear it worked out, what about health insurance? n/t

[Kaleva]

30. I'm covered under my wife's health insurance.

[slipslidingaway]

:) that's great....thanks n/t

[vaberella]

29. I was denid life insurance because I was overweight. Life or health insurance, both are evil. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

23. why didn't anyone complain until now?

insurance companies and the medical profession have been riding roughshod over the American people for years and we didn't hear many people complain until now?

[slipslidingaway]

27. People have complained, but also I believe it has become worse...

as DUer Cleita mentioned here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=11754&mesg_id=11768

[Vinca]

28. Sometimes they don't tell you directly they won't cover you,

they just quote a figure there's no way an average-income person can pay. My husband and I were recently quoted $19,200 a year with a $5,000 deductible and I suspect our pre-existing conditions would be excluded. After the agent told me the premium there was no use talking about it any further, so I could be mistaken.

[slipslidingaway]

32. Yes, many are just unable to purchase coverage due to the price...

still I have to wonder if the trade off to cover people with pre-existing conditions in exchange for mandates for the entire nation to purchase insurance is the best we could do.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[ItNerd4life]

35. Too many?

It would be a simple law to make it so they can't deny people with pre-existing conditions. Also, remove the 'max' payout.

[slipslidingaway]

36. Yes too many, it seems this is the excuse for making everyone purchase insurance...

many from private insurance companies.

Now Howard Dean says the House bill allows insurance companies to charge twice the amount to people who have a pre-existing condition.

:(