A huge part of the problem with the privatized health insurance system in the United States is that insurance companies do whatever they can to avoid paying out money to sick people. One way to do it is simply to deny coverage altogether, or to charge exorbitant premia. Another way is to actually refuse to pay for the healthcare of people actually enrolled in their insurance schemes — this was the topic of recent congressional oversight. Basically, the three leading health insurance companies said they would continue the practice of dropping coverage. Of course, they claimed to be merely stopping fraud. But when asked if they would cease this practice except in the cases of fraud or dishonesty, they all said no– emphatically.
A congressional committee investigating the matter found that, between them, the three insurers canceled the insurance of more than 20,000 people over the last few years, saving $300 million. They singled out people with cancer and lymphoma, simply because they were too expensive to cover. In fact, Blue Cross employees were praised and rewarded for dropping coverage.
People seemed genuinely shocked by this testimony, even the Republicans. But this is nothing new. Advocates of health care reform have been talking about this for years. This is precisely what happens when health insurance becomes a profit-making business. As Pope John Paul pointed out in Centesimus Annus, there are certain things that are appropriate for the free market, and certain things that are not. Health care is clearly in the latter camp. I also find it amazing that opponents of reform cry about “faceless bureaucrats” making health care decision — the whole point of reform is to stop profit-maximizing executives making these decisions.
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