Regarding the wholesale scam of individual health insurance policies

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

I feel I have read enough articles and posts to feel that many (most?) individual healthcare policies seem very close to being an actual fraud. A person purchases a policy, but if they should get ill and need to USE the policy, the rates go up stratospherically, leaving the now ill and probably unemployed person holding the bag and SOL.

Some questions:
If a policy were sincere in attempting to cover the sick as well as the well, why aren't there caps in place to limit the amount of the cost increases if someone should actually need to make claims against the policy? I.e. - your premium could go up a max of 15% a year for five years and then no more, or something like that?

The answer is that they have no intention of insuring the sick and a private policy holder has zip clout. One little lonely sick or dying person - Oh, boo hoo, says the insurance company.

They only want your dollars when you are well and no cost to them. I think there should be class action suits filed by private policy health insurance owners who have been screwed over by this unconscionable system.

If I were in the position of having to privately insure myself - I would put away the same dollars in some kind of high yield account. I would fly out of the country for most of my healthcare and pay about 20% of what is charged in the US. More people are wising up to this option.

[leftofthedial]

1. I have individual health insurance

I can't afford to use it, except for one monthly prescription, which costs me $40.

[Cleita]

2. I have an idea.

Let's cut the for profit insurance companies out of this and let them go back to insuring for catastrophies that are unlikely to happen like they always did, and let's get some national health care, like all the other civilized and industrialized countries of the world have?

Could that be a plan?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. I second that plan!

Now, how hard was that?

[peacebird]

3. we bought it for our son last year - out of Navy and going to college

it "covered" sickness expenses at about 70% after a $500 deductible - but it bounced back his college physical (ie: PREVENTIVE MEDICINE) as uncovered....

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. OOps! another thread about this topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2156779&mesg_id=2156779

(Note to self - always read Greatest first)