Cancer patient Vietnam vet's COBRA coverage dropped due to $.02 shortage

[taught_me_patience]

Read the article... it is absolutely sickening. When are states going to start charging insurance companies with murder?

Article here:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26614998/detail.html

Insurance Company Drops Vet Over 2-Cent Shortage
Cancer Patient's Life Now Hangs In Balance As He Awaits Stem Cell Replacement
Russell Haythorn, 7NEWS Reporter

POSTED: 5:13 pm MST January 25, 2011
UPDATED: 10:32 am MST January 26, 2011

THORNTON, Colo. -- Two pennies. That's the difference between a potentially life-saving surgery and a dropped insurance plan.

Those 2 cents could cost Vietnam veteran Ronald Flanagan everything.

"Everybody we talk to is very surprised that 2 cents is enough to do this," said Flanagan

[whathehell]

1. OMG...Let's hope the bad publicity will force them to put him back. n/t

[Bunny]

2. A friend of mine lost his COBRA because his payment was one day late.

Never mind that the payment was postmarked a week before the due date. It was still considered late, and his coverage was terminated. No appeal, no nothing. Just terminated.

[sakabatou]

3. He couldn't get an appeal?

[Kennah]

4. I have benefited from COBRA in the past ...

... despite having to hold my ankles and "just take it" when I paid.

However, the draconian rules surrounding COBRA are just an abomination. One gets a float period initially to get on COBRA, but once you are one you cannot miss a payment by even a day. There is usually a "grace period" of anywhere from 10 to 30 days, but miss it and you are fucked. No second chance, no late fee, just fucked.

Once I very nearly got fucked by COBRA when they upped the rates and didn't tell me--just sent the bill which was about $5-6 dollars more and I didn't notice. I had the payment set up via my bank's bill pay, and I paid it about 6 weeks in advance. Got the next month's notice, and it noted I was short for that previous month. Called, found out what's what, and I Express Mailed a money order for the extra owed so I didn't get fucked.

This is all part of the Teabagger fantasy--complete Laissez Faire Libertarian Lunacy or LLL. It's very close alphabetically, and otherwise, to the KKK.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, taught_me_patience.

[RKP5637]

6. Damn Ridiculous! n/t

[ret5hd]

7. Isn't there a legal term "de minimis"?

an "injury" that is so small that no action can be taken because of it?

[Kennah]

9. I'm not an attorney

I believe that de minimis applies in taxation and excludes benefits that are too small to fret over.

De minimis is also sometimes used in copyright law.

My application to law school was rejected when it was discovered that my parents were in fact married at the time of my conception.

[lsewpershad]

8. America the greatest

Country on earth with the bestest health care in the world??????

[taught_me_patience]

10. kick for east coast evening crowd.

[RagAss]

11. This is America 2011....!

"This is the dead land,
This is the cactus land.

T.S. Eliot

[2Design]

12. yes they fixed it without APOLOGY because they followed procedures

they are so cold and uncaring - need public option

this is ridiculous

They and corporations are heartless

[sarcasmo]

13. Worst country on the Planet. The only thing corporations care about is GREED.