Insurance company executive refers to high-cost patients as ‘dogs.’

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/15/insurance-company-patients-dogs/

Insurance company executive refers to high-cost patients as ‘dogs.’




In the state of New York, insurers are legally prohibited from discriminating against individuals who submit large claims. So when Guardian, a major insurance company, was faced with the high-cost claims of 37 year-old muscular dystrophy patient Ian Pearl, it decided to cancel its entire line of coverage in the state of New York rather than pay for Pearl’s claims. In an e-mail obtained by The Washington Times, it was revealed that one executive at the company refers to patients like Pearl as “dogs” that the company can simply “get rid of”:

Legally barred from discriminating against individuals who submit large claims, the New York-based insurer simply canceled lines of coverage altogether in entire states to avoid paying high-cost claims like Mr. Pearl’s. In an e-mail, one Guardian Life Insurance Co. executive called high-cost patients such as Mr. Pearl “dogs” that the company could “get rid of.”

A federal court quickly ruled that the company’s actions were legal, so on Dec. 1, barring an order by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Pearl will lose his benefits.

The cost of Pearl’s annual treatment is approximately $1 million a year. The Pearl family is unable to receive the quality health care that Ian needs. “One-on-one skilled nursing is essential,” Mrs. Pearl said.

[GoCubsGo]

1. Just like the credit card companies...

They refer to those of us who pay our balances every month (and providing them no interest money) as "dead beats." If there is such a place as Hell, I hope there is a special place reserved there for these sacks of shit.

[AndyA]

2. You are being unfair to sacks of shit.

At one time, shit was food. It nourished a body and provided energy, so it was useful, beneficial, and served a function.

The insurance and credit card executives were never useful or beneficial, nor have they ever served a function other than taking care of themselves, so you're actually being quite insulting to sacks of shit. ;)

[KamaAina]

3. LBN all over this like a rash

or perhaps oozing, pustulent sores would be more appropriate. :grr: :banghead: :nuke:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4104031&mesg_id=4104031

edit: spelling

[FiveGoodMen]

4. SOMETHING needs to be done about these guys!

[ljm2002]

5. Nothing like the "sanctity of contracts"...

...when the contract is inconvenient for the big insurance companies.

I've asked before and I'll ask again: how do they get to just cancel a contract, duly entered into by two parties, and where the other party has kept up their end of the bargain?

[matthewpearl]

6. Thank you

Thank you for getting the story out there. My name is Matthew Pearl, the brother of Ian Pearl, the person in question. LJM, in reply to your questions, the federal laws were written so that insurance companies would be exempt from breach of contract claims. If they had done this to an individual--cancel a plan because the person was disabled/sick and thus expensive--it would be unlawful because it would be discrimination. So Guardian canceled the entire plan to hide the reason. Through our lawsuit, we discovered exactly what we expected: they had drawn a bullseye around Ian and a few others and then came up with a way to get rid of them.

Ian is not a "dog." Please join the Facebook page I have just set up:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=156839511657

I have contact information for Guardian there so you can share your disgust with them. This isn't just about Ian. What Guardian has done is unprecedented and if they get away with it, other insurance companies will follow.

[KamaAina]

7. Welcome to DU, Matthew!

:hi:

As it happens, I'm in the field. This post originates from an independent living center in California. This kind of blatant disability discrimination (we call it "ableism") really burns me up! :grr:

You may wish to contact the center that serves your town in Florida. A list is here:

http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/florida.html

Centers (at least the good ones) consider it their duty to help people like Ian live in the community, not a soul-sucking institution like the state hospital mentioned in the original article.

edit: The center in your area is at:

http://www.cilbroward.org

Don't know much about them. The one up in Palm Beach Co. is well-reputed, though.