You Didn't Tell Us You Were Gonna Get SICK

I'm a couple days late to this party, but seeing that this affects me, I want to call attention to it:

Former Members Sue Blue Cross (of California)

The state's largest health insurer systematically — and illegally — cancels coverage retroactively for people who need expensive care, 10 former Blue Cross members claimed in lawsuits filed Monday.

The suits, filed simultaneously in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, allege that Blue Cross of California and Blue Cross Life & Health operate a "retroactive review department" devoted to finding ways the company can escape its obligations to members who become seriously sick.

"Blue Cross' conduct is particularly reprehensible because it was part of a repeated corporate practice and not an isolated occurrence," according to the suits. The former members seek compensation, damages and court orders prohibiting the alleged practice [...]

Christie Bewley of Whittier said Blue Cross dumped her after her physician discovered she had ovarian cysts. According to the suit, she has been unable to afford to obtain a diagnosis since losing her coverage.

Blue Cross also allegedly canceled coverage for Laura Khatchikian of Los Angeles when she became pregnant with twins — more than a year after she began paying monthly premiums.

State regulators say that although a handful of such cases brought up in the courts are under investigation, "we have not seen this type of problem" called in by consumers seeking help, said Amy Dobberteen, chief of enforcement for the Department of Managed Health Care.

The suits involve health policies purchased by individuals, not group or employer-sponsored coverage. To obtain such policies, applicants must fill out a health-history questionnaire.

That would be my policy: an individual Blue Cross PPO.

They just jacked up the rates, and sent me a letter saying "due to rising costs, we will need to raise your premuims.  Also, here are the services we will no longer cover."

In other words, less service, more expensive.

This doesn't surprise me.

Actually, when I tore my Achilles in 2004 they weren't too bad (although they wouldn't cover the diagnostic MRI at ALL).  But when I got some routine blood work last year they wouldn't pay for the doctor visit because I didn't go to their approved "wellness center."  Which they never told me about, of course, and there isn't one all that close to where I live, either.

I really don't want to pay money to a company with business practices this dishonest, and I'd love to give them the old heave-ho, but since I've had a kind of major surgery within two years, I doubt any other provider would be willing to allow me to purchase health insurance from them. As I freelance, I don't have the leverage that group coverage provides.  

And there, my friends, is the great catch-22 of insurance, which this story only seeks to cement.  They only want you if you're healthy.