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Health Net ordered to pay $9 million after canceling cancer patient's policy
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| endless_summer |
The punitive damage award is the first of its kind and has prompted the giant medical insurer to scrap practices that have recently come under fire.
By Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 23, 2008
One of California's largest for-profit insurers stopped a controversial practice of canceling sick policyholders Friday after a judge ordered Health Net Inc. to pay more than $9 million to a breast cancer patient it dropped in the middle of chemotherapy.
The ruling by a private arbitration judge was the first of its kind and the most powerful rebuke to the state's major insurers whose cancellation practices are under fire from the courts, state regulators and elected officials.
click here for the rest of the story |
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| 1dawoman |
Insurance companies have one purpose only......to make money (hence the 'for-profit' right there in the first line)....not to help people.....so I'm not surprised they dropped this particular 'client' once her medical bills started accumulating..... in my opinion, the words 'health care' and 'insurance company' should NEVER be put together in the same sentence....I'm so happy we dont live in a country where we'd be faced with these circumstances if, god forbid, we were diagnosed with something like this......
(this story kinda reminded me of the ones michael moore talked about in that movie.....) |
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| Tordan |
| "At the arbitration hearing, internal company documents were disclosed showing that Health Net had paid employee bonuses for meeting a cancellation quota and for the amount of money saved." |
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| raveed |
| quote: | Originally posted by Tordan
"At the arbitration hearing, internal company documents were disclosed showing that Health Net had paid employee bonuses for meeting a cancellation quota and for the amount of money saved." |
having watched Sicko , the american health insurance practices depicted definitely made me sick to my stomach but this disclosure is definitely a new low ... this highlights why medical tourism is such a booming industry today with more people opting to get their treatment overseas |
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