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October 13, 2010

Study: Denial of Health Insurance for Medical History Jumps 49%
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A new congressional study says the number of people denied medical
coverage because of preexisting conditions has grown by nearly half.
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, over the last
three years the four top for-profit insurers—Aetna, Humana, United
Health Group and Well Point—have denied coverage to 49 percent
more people because of medical history. Over 257,000 people were denied
last year, compared to 172,000 in 2007. All four companies followed a
policy of considering pregnancy a "pre-existing condition" leading to an
automatic denial of coverage. A provision of the healthcare law barring
denial of coverage to adults based on medical history doesn’t kick in
until 2014.



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