Death Panels 2
TerranceDC recounts the story of Ian Pearl, whose health insurance company searched desperately for a way to cancel his policy. A nugget:
Our (the Pearl family’s–ed.) lawsuit uncovered insurance company documents that confirmed my suspicion that I’m a target of discrimination. The documents revealed Guardian had compiled a “hit list” of its costliest members, including patients with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, and paralysis. Guardian executives referred to us all as “dogs” and “trainwrecks,” and they debated how and when to dump us from the rolls. Laws prohibited the cancellation of the individual members with serious chronic health problems, so Guardian opted to cancel the plan for all members of this specific health plan in New York, an action that violates federal law.
October 21, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I saw this earlier & had to wonder then why anyone would consider the for-profit insurance companies necessary.
I still say wipe them ALL out & go with single payer. We’re the only (what’s the word I want) country who deals with this mess & the country who pays the most for health care. For those who can get it, that is.
October 21, 2009 at 8:14 pm
As the Booman pointed out some time ago, there is an internal contradiction (whoops! that sounds Marxist!) in the concept of health insurance.
Insurance is based on the idea that a hazard is haphazard. A whole bunch of us who are afraid of our houses’ burning down band together through an insurance company and pool our funds. All of our houses don’t burn down and, if one does, the funds are there to take care of that one householder.
The death rate is one per person. Every one of us will get sick and die. Some will get sicker and take longer to die than others, but we are all going to get sick and die.
The insurance model doesn’t work for a certainty.
But it sure works for country-club memberships.