Health insurance in America is an issue that affects millions of people. One would think the issue could be easily resolved: all full-time employees should be covered under a health insurance plan provided by their employer, right? Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The National Coalition on Health Care reports that nearly seven million Americans will lose their health insurance between 2008 and 2010. Also, an average of 22,000 citizens without health insurance die each year as a result of not being able to receive medical care. This problem isn’t going to resolve itself until health insurance companies lower their premiums and accept more people into their programs.
The topic of uninsured citizens is an issue widely discussed in pop culture. The release of Sicko in 2007 showcased health care companies as evil, manipulative organizations that don’t look out for the best interest of their patrons. Director Michael Moore is notoriously controversial, but the people interviewed in this movie really made a case as to why healthcare in America desperately needs to be improved.
“Dawnelle Keys talked about how her 18-month-old daughter died after being denied treatment at a hospital. Andy Bales of the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles testified about how hospitals dump patients on Skid Row. And Dr. Linda Peeno spoke about her work as a medical reviewer for the health insurer Humana. She says she denied one patient a life-saving operation to protect company profits,” said Democracy Now!.
Krista Purcell, a 24-year-old full-time employee at Flagler College only recently became covered under health insurance. When Purcell was in college, she had to struggle to stay well because she knew she could not afford going to doctor’s appointments. “I was really paranoid every time I got sick, and I would get so stressed out. God forbid I would be seriously injured, I’m sure my family would go into serious debt to take care of me,” said Purcell. But now that Purcell is covered under Flagler College’s full health insurance plan, she does not have to worry about getting sick, and can see a physician any time she needs to.
Many claims that health insurance companies process do not get approved, and the answer as to why they are not approved is not given most of the time. One is simply left to wonder why their health insurance carrier is not responding to the needs of its patrons. For this reason, sometimes people decide to omit their health issues in order to become insured in the first place. But healthcare expert Bilyana Savic from Insurance Insights discourages this practice, as it encourages fraud. “A prior diagnosis not disclosed implies fraud. That is sufficient to cancel coverage. The alternative would be to go back and ask the claimant if they willfully omitted information. What answer would you expect? That's why it is so difficult to actually prove intent,” said Savic.
With health insurance companies making it so hard for people to receive coverage, or even existing customers having their claims recognized, everyone is afraid of getting sick. It seems as if health insurance companies are ignoring their customers in a time when their help is needed the most. The recession may be to blame for the denial of many insurance claims, but time will tell if the economy improves, as will the passing of the healthcare bill.
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