[NeedKarma]

SEIU - Service Employees International Union - Domestic violence is a "pre-existing condition"?

Insurance companies have used the excuse of "pre-existing conditions" to deny coverage to countless Americans. From cancer patients to the elderly suffering from arthritis, these organizations have padded their profit margins by limiting coverage to patients deemed "high risk" because of their medical condition. But, in DC and eight other states, including Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming, insurance companies have gone too far, claiming that "domestic violence victim" is also a pre-existing condition.
Words cannot describe the sheer inhumanity of this claim. It serves as yet further proof that our insurance system is broken, destroyed by the profit-mongering of the very companies whose sole purpose should be to provide Americans with access to care when they need it most. In 1994, an informal survey conducted by the Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that 8 of the 16 largest insurers in the country used domestic violence as a factor when deciding whether to extend coverage and how much to charge if coverage was extended.

Is this true? How can it be??

[firmbeliever]

I fear for my community, they are just discovering health insurance... I can almost imagine these same headlines in our newspapers.

[speechlesstx]

Just a question, and I'm not defending anything here so don't jump down my throat just yet, but what's the difference between a pre-existing condition arising from domestic violence and any other pre-existing condition?

[NeedKarma]

I believe that if there is evidence that a woman is in a violent relationship she can be denied medical insurance.

What's the general definition of "pre-existing condition" as per the insurance companies?

[excon]

what's the difference between a pre-existing condition arising from domestic violence and any other pre-existing condition?

Hello Steve:

None, in fact. What you point out is how stupid discrimination against ANY sick or injured person is.

excon

[speechlesstx]

I know, I know and that's the argument for health care being a right and all that jazz. But since insurance companies are in business to survive and make a profit, why should they cover pre-existing conditions? If I buy a car with a crunched fender should my insurance company pay to fix it? And by the way, since most people get coverage at work there are generally no exclusions for pre-existing when they sign up during open enrollment or as a new employee.

[NeedKarma]

Interesting country you have where being beat up makes you ineligible for healthcare insurance.

[ETWolverine]

How accurate is this claim? I don't know.

I will say this... in his speech to Congress last week Obama mentioned a woman who had been denied coverage because of the pre-existing condition of "acne". What Obama failed to report is that her "acne" was not normal acne, but rather a pre-cancerous skin-condition that appears similar to acne. The woman hid a condition that would have warned her of her own cancer. Furthermore, she understated her weight in order to qualify for a lower premium rate, and she didn't report prescription medications she was taking for a heart condition.

Scott Harrington: Fact-Checking the President on Health Insurance - WSJ.com

In other words, while what Obama said was the truth, it was NOT the whole truth... and the parts he left out change the entire picture of why the insurance company dropped her.

So... how do we know that what this article is stating... that these women have been dropped because of "preexisting conditions due to domestic abuse" is the full story? What else do we not know about in these cases?

Don't jump to conclusions, NK. Investigate further before you make a judgement. The writers may turn out to be right... and if that's the case I would be rather upset myself, because I have in the past done some charity work with abused women and children. But I have a feeling that there's more here than meets the eye.

Elliot

[spitvenom]

Speech please tell me you are not comparing human beings to used cars.

[NeedKarma]

Speech please tell me you are not comparing human beings to used cars.

Yes, he just did.

[excon]

why should they cover pre-existing conditions?

Hello steve:

Making a profit by cherry picking only healthy people is good for them, but bad for us... That's because we ALL have pre-existing conditions including tonsillitis which I had when I was two. And, we're ALL going to get sick one day and ask for care...

Plus, deciding who get's care and who doesn't, even if based on pre-existing conditions, is a DEATH PANEL, isn't it? And, we're ALL going to have to face 'em one day, aren't we?

You support death panels?? I didn't know.

excon

[NeedKarma]

hello steve:

Making a profit by cherry picking only healthy people is good for them, but bad for us... That's because we all have pre-existing conditions including tonsillitis which i had when i was two. And, we're all going to get sick one day and ask for care....

Plus, deciding who get's care and who doesn't, even if based on pre-existing conditions, is a death panel, isn't it? And, we're all gonna have to face 'em one day, aren't we?

You support death panels??? I didn't know.

Excon

[ETWolverine]

Hello steve:

Making a profit by cherry picking only healthy people is good for them, but bad for us... That's because we ALL have pre-existing conditions including tonsillitis which I had when I was two. And, we're ALL going to get sick one day and ask for care....

Plus, deciding who get's care and who doesn't, even if based on pre-existing conditions, is a DEATH PANEL, isn't it? And, we're ALL gonna have to face 'em one day, aren't we?

You support death panels??? I didn't know.

excon

Then it's a good thing that if your health insurance denies your coverage due to a pre-existing health condition there's a way to get health care on your own.

Whereas in a government single payer system, if they deny you coverage, you're screwed because there IS NO OTHER OPTION.

One more point:

What percentage of people who have health insurance are denied by their health insurance because of pre-existing conditions of any sort? Anybody know?

Because if we're thinking of scraping the entire health care system in this country, I'd like it to be for more than just a couple of people.

Anybody have any statistics on this one?

Elliot

[tomder55]

I do find it interesting the DC ,a liberal bastion and partly under direct control of the Federal Government would allow such provisions.

So far have traced the claim to a publication called Nowhere to Turn: How the Individual Health Insurance Market Fails Women from the National Women's Law Center.
http://action.nwlc.org/insurance

I would be interested in seeing the specific state laws about this . Since they provide no other proof to the claim.

Steve has a point. Suppose I am the victim of a mugging . Can I realistically expect an insurance company to cover my injuries related to the mugging after the fact ?

[NeedKarma]

Whereas in a government single payer system, if they deny you coverage, you're screwed because there IS NO OTHER OPTION.

There is no such thing as being denied for "pre-existing conditions" because pre-existing conditions is not an issue - you are covered from the day you are born.

[NeedKarma]

Steve has a point. Suppose I am the victim of a mugging . Can I realistically expect an insurance company to cover my injuries related to the mugging after the fact ?

Sure, why not?

[excon]

Steve has a point. Suppose I am the victim of a mugging . Can I realistically expect an insurance company to cover my injuries related to the mugging after the fact ?

Hello tom:

Steve DOES have a point. However, you forget that when we gave the insurance companies the "gift" of a law requiring ALL drivers to be insured, we also require them to insure ALL the drivers. EVERYBODY is covered.

So, if the results of your mugging are life threatening, or even if they're not, you SHOULD expect health care...

excon

[tomder55]

Ex ;not true , insurance companies deny drivers all the time. That is why many states have a risk pool coverage .

Keep in mind... insurance is regulated . If this is an issue in the states involved ,it is up to the states to change their existing laws. Evidently most states have written provisions into their laws to deal with this.

[earl237]

Insurance companies are pure evil and care only about profit, this sadly doesn't surprise me at all.

[speechlesstx]

Interesting country you have where being beat up makes you ineligible for healthcare insurance.

If the issue is denying coverage over the potential of future violence based on past history then that's just wrong. But I believe the issue is denying coverage/treatment for pre-exisiting conditions period. The example from the HRSA site you referred is this:

... the Women's Law Project reported that a woman from rural Minnesota was beaten severely by her ex-husband. After remarrying, she applied for health insurance and was told that should would not be covered for treatment relating to the abuse-related pre-existing conditions of depression and neck injury.

It says nothing of denying coverage but excluding coverage for the pre-existing problems - which happen to be related to domestic violence. Feel free to argue the merits of denying coverage of pre-existing conditions, just don't misrepresent the issue.