[ingelein]

Originally Posted by elkpark

She will probably be okay if employed by a "large" employer with good group coverage (and if she stays there, and doesn't change jobs/employers much); otherwise, she will have trouble finding coverage and/or it will be exorbitantly, prohibitively expensive.

On the other hand, there's always the possibility that, by then, we will have fixed this horrendous mess ... Surely??

It will have to ,its already imploding.Unregulated corporate greed as brought health care to this point, its up to the voters to get the corporate cronies and lobbyists out of government.

[elkpark]

Originally Posted by ingelein

It will have to ,its already imploding.Unregulated corporate greed as brought health care to this point, its up to the voters to get the corporate cronies and lobbyists out of government.

ITA! .

[kcochrane]

Originally Posted by natania

Yikes, this thread scares me! I have a 15 year old with epilepsy. Right now, of course, she is covered by our family insurance. What is going to happen when she is too old to be covered by our policy?

As others have mentioned, don't let your insurance lapse. My son has a heart problem and was covered by me until 19. After that he continued with the same company, but paid his own premiums.

[JustaPatient]

Originally Posted by natania

Yikes, this thread scares me! I have a 15 year old with epilepsy. Right now, of course, she is covered by our family insurance. What is going to happen when she is too old to be covered by our policy?

From what my parents have told me since I have a condition, she also needs to be careful what states she lives in. Some states allow that if she even just changes insurance she can be denied. Not even if it lapses, if she just changes.

[My2Giants]

Originally Posted by meeczar

I just read about your situation and I felt compelled to join the site so I could post a comment of my own. I'm truly sorry for you son's situation and I hope that something happens soon to correct this wrongdoing. Right now I'm in a similar situation with my son. I just found out today that he was denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Late last year he went in to the hospital twice in short successions with pancreatitis. Fortunately he had health insurance while he was in the hospital but it was a short term policy that expired February 1st. Now we are finding out that insurance carriers don't want to write a new policy because of his previous illness. I just want to say that insurance companies are, in my opinion, the pinnacle of hypocrisy. If you don't have a problem and they perceive you as a good risk they are your best buddy. The minute they have to pay money they change their attitudes immediately! They are dragging their feet paying the bills and now they don't want to write a policy! In my mind this is immoral and it should be illegal! I understand that insurance companies are in business solely to make a profit - they're like every other corporation in this board-room controlled country. I've been a conservative republican all of my voting life but I think the profit-driven approach to providing health care insurance to fellow humans is absolutely wrong! We are not dealing with inanimate objects that sit on shelves waiting to be sold and funnel profits into the pockets of share holders. There is a clear and fundamental difference with the health insurance business and the time has come to acknowledge that fact. We are dealing with LIVES here people - not widgets sold for profit! I truly hope that I can find some way to correct this tragedy, not only for my son but to help correct the situation for us all. The absolute stupidity of this whole issue repulses me.

Good Luck with your son and I hope that the problem is fixed VERY soon!

Meezcar thank you for your kind words. I also hope and wish for the best for your son. I agree with you on all points. Something needs to be done! I have always voted republican myself, but not so sure that I will this time around. We need health care coverage for each and every living, breathing human being.

[daisybaby]

As mentioned here and in other threads, health insurance is a business like any other. People often blame the insurance companies for higher premiums with fewer benefits, but fail understand that employers (or negotiating units) choose what to offer their employees and for how much. Perhaps the best thing your son (or anyone else) can do is to choose to work for a conscientious company that values the health of its employees enough to offer comprehensive group health insurance and to contribute enough to the cost of premiums so that employees don't take the brunt of it. There are such employers out there, however few and far between.

That being said, I do sympathize with your son, and hope he's able to find the coverage he needs to get (and stay) healthy.

[ksilty]

Originally Posted by Sensoria17

I thought you couldn't be denied insurance if you are going through a group plan? If this is not the case, then wouldn't we have even more people without health insurance?

A lot of people make the mistake of blaming the insurance company when it is actually the employer who purchased the coverage. Group policies are custom written and contracted between an employer and the insurance company. The coverages and exclusions are chosen by the employer. Many companies are offering cheaper rates to companies who want to exclude coverage to employees who smoke, drink, have pre-existing conditions, or a BMI over an agreed-upon limit, such as your son has. Some companies will opt to cover these folks if the employee pays a higher premium (does not increase the employer share.) Insurance is a very big-cost benefit for companies now, and they are always looking for ways to cut their costs on healthcare premiums. Very unwise choice on the part of your son's employer. Who wants to entrust a big rig to someone who cannot afford to go to the doctor if he gets sick? Your son will not be without healthcare coverage, he just needs to find an employer who has better coverage.

[ksilty]

Originally Posted by mrsraisinkain

My husband had gastric bypass surgery through his previous company's group health insurance. It's a long story but now he still works for the same company but with no benefits (anybody familiar with the mess of General Motors?). We were searching for individual policies for our family and every company was denying him due to having the surgery. One agent told me he was so-called "blacklisted" for 5 years post surgery. It's such a shame and doesn't make sense because now he is in the best health of his life.

When I was working on my Masters, I did a research paper on insurance companies. Bypass surgery was one of the hot topics at the time. Most will not cover it, and many that do resitrict the list of providers to only the most reputable programs. The track record of long-term gastric bypass outcomes is not a good one. Many folks have long-term complications, and even more end up gaining the weight back. Ins companies have it mapped out like cancer, if you reach the five year point without regaining the weight, you are considered a sucess statistic.

[ksilty]

Originally Posted by mcubed45

bankrupt companies don't help much either.

i'm not sure where people expect the extra money to come from. people hate paying premiums and having limited coverage yet they expect these same companies to take on additional LOSSES? math does not work that way.

True, and the amount most of us pay for health insurance is only a small portion of the actual premium. When I worked for the State, I paid about $100. a month for good coverage (that was a 5 years ago). The state paid almost $700. of my premium. But what a lot of folks don't realize is that a couple of MRIs and a routine surgery would wipe all that out....

[nursehelper]

It is hypocritical to complain about the insurance company wanting to make profits. Insurance companies are not charities.