Just caught a USA Today article that ran today on California health insurere Health Net being fined $9 million for dropping a patient going through treatment for breast cancer. I applaud the court for having the gumption to take a stand against an insurer engaging in such an unfair practice.
One can only assume that the intent was to punish the insurer and make an example of them so that other insurers would think twice about such a practice in the future. However, there is a side effect to this remedy. That cost will have to be made up somewhere and at someone’s expense. The somewhere will be in the form of increased premiums at the expense of Health Net’s insured.
With insurance, it seems that even when we win, we still lose.
The health care industry is in dire need of reform. We are a nation that has become accustomed to allowing our health insurance providers the final say in our health care. That is all sure to change. The key to great health care is lawsuits like these that bring attention to the ever growing problem of patient discrimination. With the increased knowledge becoming available for patients about their health care choices, soon, the health insurance providers will be on the hot seat all over the world. Do you think there is another way to solve these problems? Can there be a peaceful solution to these health care problems?