Young people don't need health insurance!

[feuervogel]

Insurance company: You can get a temporary policy, but if you want to continue it, you have to reapply. And if you use the temporary insurance, you've got a pre-existing condition, for which we'll deny you. That sounds fair. Sure.

The coverage my friends were able to purchase for their daughter was a 180 day policy. The terms of the policy required that, if they wanted to "renew" it, in effect, they had to reapply for it all over again. At which time, the insurance company was free to take into account any "pre-existing conditions" as a cause for denying coverage. "Pre-existing conditions", in this case, included any conditions for which the policy holder sought treatment for during the 180 days of coverage for which they had paid for.

Read also this post, about one of the victims of the health club shooting: a recent college grad without health insurance who can't afford the bill for the surgery (necessitated by some sick fuck who wanted to take revenge on all women for merely existing and not fucking him, apparently) so her friends & neighbors held a CAR WASH. A fucking car wash.

These are two examples of why this country needs universal coverage, like every other civilized nation on the planet.

Comments

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

My point being, however, that there are a lot more examples of universal healthcare than Canada and England. And, well, we've already got lawmakers pushing to outlaw trans-fats and sodium here, so it's not like we're in a good position to decry the Japanese system. ;)

All that said, I do wish there was more public awareness about the fact that you can't actually die of obesity - even the morbid kind. It just correlates to increased risks on other fronts, sometimes not even as a causal factor. There's a lot of misinformation about being heavy out there, and it's annoying to see the focus on weight instead of actual health.

Heck, I saw a program just this morning about how people gain weight while exercizing - a long string of statements like if you do a 25 minute kickboxing routine, then have a latte, the calories cancel out, so it was all a waste. Because, you know, the muscle tone, coordination, stress relief, lower blood pressure, higher energy levels, better sleep, etc, etc, etc... all that's meaningless if you're not thinner, that's the whole point of exercise and the only way it's healthy!

(All of which is to say, I'm overweight and I don't think it's the government's job to change that, but I also smoke and if they think I should pay more for care because I indulge in something that actually increases my risk of disease, I'm willing to debate that. Not that it matters much right now, since the current debate is just some humanitarian regulation of the industry and a public option.)