With the ranks of the uninsured expected to swell to well over 50 million within the next 10 years, and many Americans afraid of losing not only jobs but the health benefits that come with them, the clock is ticking on health care reform. But what if, though not covered by an employer or the government, you applied for and were approved for a private plan? And, what if, unlike the millions of under-insured whose plans cover only a fraction of their costs, you were able to buy a decent plan so that, in the event of a major illness, you would be covered. Then, assuming you're able to keep up with your premiums, you should be okay, right? Wrong. Many insurance companies are finding that not only is hindsight 20/20, it's also extremely profitable.

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Lawmakers at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee found that private insurance companies often respond to expensive illnesses by combing over long-ago approved applications for inaccuracies or incomplete information. If they find some, even if it had no impact on the diagnosis, they can rescind the policy and stop treatment. NPR's Morning Edition reports the story of a woman whose double mastectomy to treat breast cancer was called off when her insurance company discovered that she'd never mentioned having acne and a rapid heartbeat on her application (neither impacted her diagnosis.)

Insurance companies claim that the blame is not in their policies, but in the lack of a universal health care plan, which would cover those whose policies they reject or rescind. The committee's angry rejoinder that the companies could also help out their ill customers by doing their checking during the application process -- rather than after years of accepting premiums -- rang true, but there was one thing the insurance companies were right about: The current system in which not all people are insured offers incentives for companies to look for reasons to shed customers when they need insurance the most. Entrusting insurance companies to balance their profits against the needs of the people they insure leaves neither of them looking very healthy.


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