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Rape Is A Pre-Existing Condition?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/insurance-companies-rape-_n_328708.html
OK, I am generally not a fan of the Huffington Post. I have been so disgusted with their lack of evidence-based journalism and their outright acceptance of pretty much any point of view no matter how wacky, or flat-out wrong it is, that I actually made a point of boycotting reading any of their stuff, even though some writers I respect are still hanging on to a sinking ship.
I am also hesitant to take the word of any article that uses anecdotal data as their primary source for information.
However, whether this is "routine" or not, as is debated in the article, the fact that it happens AT ALL is a symptom of a very seriously damaged healthcare system.
The representative of the insurance companies is very quick to point out that women are not being denied because they were raped, and that those who make the denial decisions have no way of even knowing that they were raped.
And this is true.
However, being denied insurance because you once took anti-HIV medication or because you once were diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AT ALL. There should be no excuse for anyone going without basic medical care.
I am a freelance contractor so I do not have employer-provided health insurance. I also do not work often enough to afford my own private health insurance. I do, however, work too often to be eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Even my unemployment is too high to make me eligible for government-assisted healthcare. Did you read that? EVEN WHILE UNEMPLOYED I MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. Because of some identity fraud in my past, and a couple of outstanding debts (total debt, including student loans: less than $6,000), I am also ineligible for credit cards.
I cannot be treated for the most basic medical procedures without paying out of pocket. Do you know how fucking expensive it is to get a root canal without insurance? Do you know how difficult it is to pay for that root canal when your car breaks down at the same time?
Now how do you think it feels to be a victim of a violent rape, to then have to subject yourself to law enforcement who will investigate your claims of rape, have to re-live the torture over and over again as you are required to re-tell the story to convince the cops that you are actually a victim and are not lying, wait the months it takes to get any sort of resolution, go through humiliating and painful physical examinations, worry that your rape might also be a death sentence with a long and painful drawn-out death through HIV or some other STD ... only to have your insurance company drop your coverage because you had a "pre-existing condition" so now all of that bullshit and any future medical needs you might have must be covered out of your own pocket up front.
WTF?
OK, I am generally not a fan of the Huffington Post. I have been so disgusted with their lack of evidence-based journalism and their outright acceptance of pretty much any point of view no matter how wacky, or flat-out wrong it is, that I actually made a point of boycotting reading any of their stuff, even though some writers I respect are still hanging on to a sinking ship.
I am also hesitant to take the word of any article that uses anecdotal data as their primary source for information.
However, whether this is "routine" or not, as is debated in the article, the fact that it happens AT ALL is a symptom of a very seriously damaged healthcare system.
The representative of the insurance companies is very quick to point out that women are not being denied because they were raped, and that those who make the denial decisions have no way of even knowing that they were raped.
And this is true.
However, being denied insurance because you once took anti-HIV medication or because you once were diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AT ALL. There should be no excuse for anyone going without basic medical care.
I am a freelance contractor so I do not have employer-provided health insurance. I also do not work often enough to afford my own private health insurance. I do, however, work too often to be eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Even my unemployment is too high to make me eligible for government-assisted healthcare. Did you read that? EVEN WHILE UNEMPLOYED I MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. Because of some identity fraud in my past, and a couple of outstanding debts (total debt, including student loans: less than $6,000), I am also ineligible for credit cards.
I cannot be treated for the most basic medical procedures without paying out of pocket. Do you know how fucking expensive it is to get a root canal without insurance? Do you know how difficult it is to pay for that root canal when your car breaks down at the same time?
Now how do you think it feels to be a victim of a violent rape, to then have to subject yourself to law enforcement who will investigate your claims of rape, have to re-live the torture over and over again as you are required to re-tell the story to convince the cops that you are actually a victim and are not lying, wait the months it takes to get any sort of resolution, go through humiliating and painful physical examinations, worry that your rape might also be a death sentence with a long and painful drawn-out death through HIV or some other STD ... only to have your insurance company drop your coverage because you had a "pre-existing condition" so now all of that bullshit and any future medical needs you might have must be covered out of your own pocket up front.
WTF?
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(that's kind of inane, but you pretty much said it.)
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That's a bummer.. I tried to research them when I started following health care reform, and they looked like another news source, no more incredulous than the wall street journal or the washington post.. And at least they were covering things like single payer.
What is it that they have reported on that has turned you off?
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PZ Myers and a host of other science-based activists have all jumped ship or recommended avoiding them too, although I was already fed up with their shit before then.
I think the final straw for me was a completely credulous anti-vax article written by Jim Carey that got major billing and no counter-point or even disclaimer notice that Jim Carey has no scientific background and everything he said in the article has been proven untrue in multiple, credible, scientific venues for years.
Try and get anybody to give a shit about it, though...
(Anonymous) 2009-10-23 06:15 am (UTC)(link)The average taxpayer has some kind of employer-sponsored health insurance. They're covered by a "group plan" and won't get their policy cancelled when they have a need for coverage. They're getting what they want, and they don't care about the issue at all unless the costs get so high for their employer as to impact their salary (or, worse, cause the employer to stop offering coverage).
I buy my own health insurance, being self-employed. I've been paying premiums now for-- ohh-- close to 7 years. I have very basic coverage to take care of me in a catastrophic situation-- major medical only. I pay for things like office visits, outpatient procedures, tests, prescriptions, etc, out of pocket (medical savings account, actually), and I try to take care of myself to minimize that expense. I treat my health insurance like auto insurance. I'm not going to buy insurance to pay for spark plugs, oil changes, and tires. I just want the insurance there when some fuckwit pulls out in front of me and wrecks my car.
Because so many Americans are covered by employer sponsored plans (and because they don't understand that the money the employer is spending on them is really just a deduction from their potential salary), they expect to get the "spark plugs, oil changes, and tires" as part of the deal. They've got a completely disconnected notion of what insurance should be used for, and in their minds it's all "free" so they should get as much as they can get. They also don't have any incentive, beyond good health, to take care of themselves (and, from the look of all the whale-like people I see, that's not a very powerful incentive). Fat, happy, and ignorant. Must be nice.
If I have a claim my insurer is going to fight tooth-and-nail to cancel my policy. In the majority of states, I don't need to have any intent to defraud for my insurer to find some innocent mistake I might've made during my application as grounds for cancellation of my policy.
Beautiful fucking system. I'm a second-class citizen, when it comes to healthcare, because I chose to strike out on my own, take the risk, and start a business. It's pretty galling, isn't it? It looks, to me, like the only way to get ahead re: healthcare is to be an owner of a health insurance company.
Evan
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http://ow.ly/weLQ
Upshot is that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett seem to be rediscovering polyamory. Someone should send them a book. The article is refreshingly positive.
P.S.:
There is absolutely nothing left to be said for the private health insurance industry. Nothing. OK, I guess Hitler would have had pre-existing conditions too, giving them a sort of anti-Godwin, but that's it. I'm done. Fuckers.
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Tilda Swinton is also on the list, but she's not quite the A-lister that Will Smith is (although she *is* big) and she openly scoffs at the poly community using her as a high-profile example, which is discouraging.
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I thought I might have heard something about Smith and Pinkett before, but it was very cool to see such positive and untacky piece on the subject in was basically a fluffy context.
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But for the potentially scandalous topic, very little news was made about it.