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It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by your spouse is a pre-existing condition.
Under the cold logic of the insurance industry, it makes perfect sense: If you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you’re more likely to get beaten again than the average person and are therefore more expensive to insure. In human terms, it’s a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence.
In 2006, Democrats tried to end the practice. An amendment introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), now a member of leadership, split the Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee 10-10. The tie meant that the measure failed. All ten no votes were Republicans.
"When Getting Beaten By Your Husband Is A Pre-Existing Condition (via ort)
“One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn’t reported gallstones that he didn’t even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size. That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10obama.text.html
It’s shocking that anyone survives.
Of all of the concepts within Obama’s Health Insurance Reform plan, this is one that really strikes a chord with me. Denying coverage on the basis of “pre-existing” conditions, even if unknown, is nonsensical. We expect people who can afford it to have health insurance, but in many cases its not even a lack of money but instead availability. In order for any reform plan to be truly successful this idea needs to be involved. Insurance companies should no longer be given the freedom to pick and choose their customers. Everyone deserves to live.
