Four-month-old Alex Lange is described as a "happy, adorable, big baby." Yet he can't get health insurance.
Rocky Mountain Health Plans refuses to cover little Alex because he's too large.
Okay, I admit it. When I first read this I thought it HAD to be a joke.
But it is not.
Insurance companies make these kinds of decisions all of the time. We just don't usually hear about them. Well now we are.
"Death Panels"? The insurance companies have been condemning Americans to death for decades. And they will continue to do so until we create an alternative health care plan that makes them lower their prices, accept individuals with pre-existing conditions, and makes them have to compete for new clients.
And my friends THAT requires the public option.
The idea that these companies are suddenly going to start doing the right thing because Congress passed a bill telling them to is ludicrous. They will be slow to comply, hire attorneys to argue why it is unconstitutional for them to be harassed by Congress, and continue to let Americans die with no impact on their conscious whatsoever.
Come on folks open your eyes! If they are willing to turn down a BABY to save costs what chance do you and your loved ones have?
It's a little like preaching to the choir, isn't it? Remember, the citizens want either single-payer or public option -- what the politicians will deliver will no doubt be a fresh set of economic chains to yet another industry.
ReplyDeleteNot to shake out against the extraordinarily creepy, but please don't use "my friends". Really.
The fact that there one person in this country who doesn't realize we need a public option is still something that mystifies me. Why can't people think this out logically for themselves rather than listening to the right wing nuts, who insist that it is more important for us to keep making money for the insurance companies. It is totally insane.
ReplyDeleteIt's even more insane if you realize the right wingnuts are also paying all this money for health care INSURANCE.
ReplyDeleteLet's be clear, this is not health care reform. This is health INSURANCE reform. Health care is fine, it's the access and corporate meddling and denial that is the problem. If you don't have access, you don't get healthcare.
And they really just want people to die quickly, just like Grayson said.
What an unregulated racket this is in our country. Put some leashes on these dirty dogs.
Hey! With the republican plan(Don't get sick. If you do, die quick.) no one needs health care.
ReplyDeleteOf course the republicans will still require that everyone pay for health insurance because they do not want to turn off their money faucet.
Hey Gryphen, I started emailing a bunch of folks at the insurance company - got the email addresses at Huffington - they have now changed their policy and say that they will cover "healthy babies" - and not base it on their weight. Note that they will only cover the healthy ones, not babies with any health issues that they may have to pay to get treated. They are still swine in my book. We need single payer health care NOW. I lived in Europe for 9 years - fantastic coverage.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Americans so placidly accept these Dickensian conditions? There's a whole lot of collective European head-shaking going on...
ReplyDeleteDENVER (AP) - A Colorado insurance company is changing its attitude about fat babies.
ReplyDeleteThe insurer said Monday it would change its policy for babies that are healthy but fat. The company attributed the boy's rejection for health coverage to "a flaw in our underwriting system."
Looks like the Insurance Company caved as a result of their negative publicity.
ReplyDeleteDo we really need to do this one story at a time? I mean, are they going to do this only if a person successfully gets individual publicity?
These people have been denying coverage for years. It has nothing to do with anything but MONEY.
This is exactly why we need nothing less than single-payer,and I have no problem with paying a little more in my taxes for it.
ReplyDeleteThe insurance company caved; they are going to pay. It's on Huff post. They probably read your blog, Gryphen
ReplyDeleteBirdwatcher: tell us more. As a European, I feel I sound supercilious when I praise universal healthcare, which we all take for granted over here. But as an American with experience of both systems, you could give more insights... As a mom, the baby Alex Lange story really angered me, though... especially as my own baby was "off the chart" (i.e. even bigger) and is now a healthy, slim teen
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughter, a recent college graduate, decided she needed insurance. She was turned down because she had "migraine headaches"......
ReplyDeleteAmerica is suposed to be the best country in the world, yet we feel sorry for you. Democracy bought and paid for by those that have more money than they could ever spend. Pity, so many suffer.
ReplyDeletehmmmm.
ReplyDeleteIf the cutoff rate is the 95 percentile....that means there are lots of babies being deemed uninsureable.
In fact, the top 5%.