I applied for health insurance recently, with two different companies. Both denied me due to a ‘pre-existing condition’ which really was about an incident three years ago and routine maintenance ever since. I pose no threat to the bottom line of their company and am certain to make them income. But that’s not good enough. They want to insure people who will make NO CLAIMS. That’s business, after all.
What these two companies did will be illegal starting January, 2014.
Making it illegal to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions is probably one of the least-controversial parts of Obama’s health care legislation (unless, of course, you were an insurance lobbyist or someone who was getting paid by the insurance companies). So instead of having the law change in 2011, the compromise was 2014. So much good that does me now, huh?
Aetna’s sales staff – a company that I’ve been insured with since 2005 – was quite helpful in getting me the info to stay with Aetna after my previous insurance ran out. So I applied, and waited. Then a jerk named Erik Wheeler declined me. Aetna didn’t even bother to send me a letter to tell me – I had to find out by calling.
I truly hope that Erik Wheeler, and everyone in the insurance industry who work hard to keep taking advantage of the time before 2014, have horrible things happen to them.
These are terrible people and they should rot in hell. The law change in 2014 will help make these folks irrelevant but not until they get a taste of their own medicine will justice come.