A Spork in the Road

Dear United Healthcare “Golden Rule” Bureaucrat:

Riddle me this, Bureaucrat: if you were going to deny my insurance claims if my doctor found anything wrong with me in the first two years of coverage, then why didn’t you require a physical examination before you would issue a policy at all?

At least we would all have known where we stood. “We will issue you health insurance, but only if you are completely healthy. We won’t take your money unless we are guaranteed that it will cost us nothing.” I could have dealt with that. We all would have been on the same page.

But let’s not focus exclusively on the past; the future, full of possibility and (dare I say it) hope, still looms before us. So here is some exciting verbiage, which I would like to share with you. It’s taken from our President’s Fact Sheet on Health Care (PDF):

“(1) GUARANTEED ELIGIBILITY. Obama and Biden will require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans, regardless of their health status or history, can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums.”

Did you HEAR that? “Comprehensive benefits.” And “fair and stable premiums.” And “regardless of health status or history.” I mean, how nutso is this: they want to offer health insurance to people who need it. I’m excited. Are you excited? I’m excited. Definitely, definitely excited.

Not that this will cover the quarter of a million in medical expenses I’ve racked up in the past seven months, even if Obama and Biden succeed in passing their health care reforms. (How much of the “retail” cost of my bills would you have had to pay if you’d been stuck with providing me health benefits? I have yet to do the calculations, but I estimate in the $70,000 to $90,000 range, not counting my $5,000 annual deductibles and lo the many items you would have excluded from my coverage. That last part would have been entirely my own fault, though, for ever letting that dogged eHealthInsurance sales rep talk me into purchasing your crappy ass coverage.)

It’s rainy and cool here in Florida: the weather is here, wish you were beautiful.

Sincerely,
Beth Adele Long