[Vision2020] Domestic Violence is a "pre-existing condition"

[Tom Hansen]

" . . . in DC and eight other states, including IDAHO [emphasis added],
Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South
Dakota, and Wyoming, insurance companies have gone too far, claiming that
"domestic violence victim" is also a pre-existing condition."

Wouldn't want the govenment screwing this up, huh?

Courtesy of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) at:

http://tinyurl.com/np2xzj

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Domestic violence is a "pre-existing condition"?
By Maria Tchijov

Insurance companies have used the excuse of "pre-existing conditions" to
deny coverage to countless Americans. From cancer patients to the elderly
suffering from arthritis, these organizations have padded their profit
margins by limiting coverage to patients deemed "high risk" because of
their medical condition.

But, in DC and eight other states, including Idaho, Mississippi, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and
Wyoming, insurance companies have gone too far, claiming that "domestic
violence victim" is also a pre-existing condition.

Words cannot describe the sheer inhumanity of this claim. It serves as yet
further proof that our insurance system is broken, destroyed by the
profit-mongering of the very companies whose sole purpose should be to
provide Americans with access to care when they need it most. In 1994, an
informal survey conducted by the Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal
Justice of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that 8 of
the 16 largest insurers in the country used domestic violence as a factor
when deciding whether to extend coverage and how much to charge if
coverage was extended.

It is clear that insurance companies refuse to police themselves. It's up
to us to call on Congress to take action now to pass health care reform
and end discrimination against patients with pre-existing conditions.

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UPDATE: The National Women's Law Center has just confirmed that in April,
Arkansas actually passed a law prohibiting insurance discrimination
against domestic violence survivors. While this is great news, we need to
keep up the fight until we pass health insurance reform and wipe out
discrimination against patients with pre-existing conditions" once and for
all.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown