Friday, February 8, 2008

How come health insurance companies are allowed to discriminate against people with disabilities


How come health insurance companies are allowed to discriminate against people with disabilities?
How is it legal for health insurance companies to discriminate against people with disabilities (I mean, medical disabilities), but other companies are not allowed to, like grocery stores are not allowed to? Or maybe it IS legal for other businesses to discriminate against people I am really just curious, that's all. About the legal process. Health insurance companies kind of make me mad, because of this issue. I know I am expressing a political opinion, but I ask you not to troll. If you have a different opinnion thatn me, you can argue for it, but please don't start trollin.'
Law & Ethics - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You mean in writing policies? That's one of the reasons we need health care reform, the insurance companies exclude people with pre-existing conditions. Which kind of ruins the whole concept of insurance, which is based on pooled risk.
2 :
It is equivalent to getting car insurance and expecting them to pay for prior damage.
3 :
Insurance companies are for profit, meaning that the share holders must make money or the company goes out of business, and then no one gets insurance. You can not expect a company to write a policy to cover a pre existing condition, unless they charge a lot of money. Health insurance companies do not make excessive profits, they make less money by percentage than almost all other types of business. They must restrict their policies and vary the cost of those policies based on the expected use of the policy. That is why people with health conditions and people of different ages are charged different amounts.
4 :
Because it seems no one wants to do anything about it, they are powerful enough to have stopped any attempt at reform for decades and it seems very good at frightening and brainwashing the American public. Last year the top ten health insurance companies made 8.27 billion, that might seem little in comparison with say Exxon, but when you consider this is profit on your premiums and avoiding paying out at every opportunity, then it makes you sick to your stomach. We spend 16% and rising of our GDP on health care, more than any other country in the world, and yet it performs very badly, right along side Slovenia, if it had performed as well as France, Australia and Japan it is estimated that 101000 lives a year could be saved. The Mckinsey global institute estimates that 91 billion a year is excess insurance company administrative costs due to complexity, still feeling calm?? 45000 people die every year due to lack of insurance and also insurance companies refusing to pay out. I was talking to a lady last weekend who's child has Downs syndrome, the insurance companies refused to pay the medical bills, she was made bankrupt, as if her life isn't hard enough!!! I generally get a lot of thumbs down when I post these facts, people it would seem don't like the stark reality of what is actually happening and prefer to listen to the lies and the twitterings of right wing loonies like Glenn Beck, the incredible in-humanity of how the insurance company's can select who they want to insure and dig up anything that can stop them paying out is beyond belief. This country faces certain economic disaster if the costs keep on sky rocketing due to waste and the general inefficiency with no regulation whatsoever! Reform one way or another has to happen and happen quick, then maybe Americans will sleep a little easier instead of being one serious illness away from bankruptcy!!!
5 :
yes, i agree


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