Feel like playing the lottery today? If you health insurance and live in California, you already are.
One out of every five persons in the Golden State who buy insurance from the top five providers there -- who pay for the care and believe it covers them completely -- will have their insurance provider deny them their health care needs, based off of pre-existing conditions or the expense of the procedure involved.
People covered by PacifiCare, one of the largest providers in that state, had a worse fate: nearly 40 percent of all persons under their plans were denied coverage.
The data was collected over a period of seven years, from 2002 to the present.
This study shows that death panels are indeed real: they've been here for years, and exist solely in the private sector. You have a better chance at being denied coverage by your provider than you do of winning any real jackpot lottery.
There is another choice: you could support health care reform, with a public option included that would give you a real choice and create real competition within the system. Reform would also eliminate discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, making it illegal to refuse treatment because you had acne as a teen.
But, hey, if you'd rather preserve a private sector health care system rather than your own health, that's fine too. Just be prepared to live with the consequences -- and don't get sick in California (or anywhere else, for that matter).
No comments:
Post a Comment