We All Have Pre-existing Conditions
Renée Martin was thrown into an unaffordable high-risk pool because of an abnormal Pap smear.
Lisa Solod got turned away by four insurers because she was on thyroid replacement, an asthma inhaler and hormones — a not uncommon trifecta for women in their 50s.
Wanda Wickizer was priced out of having insurance because she had taken Lexapro for depression.
Jesse Albert found that he and his family were uninsurable because he had once had a benign skin cancer and a bout of hepatitis C, even though his immune system had cleared the virus.
.. “We didn’t even know where that line was because it was considered proprietary information.”
.. “each company had business plans that relied on using pre-existing conditions to limit the amount of money paid for medical claims.”
In documents reviewed by the committee, one company listed “improved pre-existing exclusion processes” as an opportunity to increase growth.
.. a rational person might avoid a colonoscopy. A polyp removal might prevent cancer but could mean paying higher insurance rates, because patients who get polyps are at risk for developing more polyps, which can be precursors to cancer.