Blue Cross of California, who is one of the largest insurance companies in the United States, just raised insurance premiums by a whopping 39%. Considering the fact that health care reform is in jeopardy, this is not a good sign for the country. As Republican legislators are considering not coming to the table to discuss health care reform at all, it is clear that their allegiances are not with protecting the American people from big corporations such as banks and insurance companies.

While the state of California is “looking into” the rate increase, I don’t think we can count on state governments to act as checks against gargantuan corporations and I doubt that any insurance company will “voluntarily” regulate itself to avoid their common mistakes that are also crimes against humanity.  

We need health care reform.

• According to the American Journal of Medicine, 62% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were caused by medical bills, even though 80% of those filing actually had medical insurance. 

• As for the uninsured, by some estimates, 18,000 people needlessly die a year because they lack medical coverage, which is nearly 3 times the amount of total American fatalities in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you remain unconcerned about the insurance industry not being regulated, think about what other “offenses” the insurance industry is guilty of.

• Recission: in the past decade, there has been a history of insurance companies issuing insurance policies to people, then later disallowing them coverage based on pre-existing conditions. If you think this sounds fair, think again. Some of the pre-existing conditions that have precluded people from getting treatment have included yeast infections and minor ailments. Once a “claim” is made for medical treatment, the insurance company reviews the entire policy looking for any “error” or possible misrepresentation in order to refuse payment and/or coverage. Last year, the LA Times ran a story about Blue Cross actually praising employees for denying coverage to those who needed it.

• Insurance companies refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.  In other words, insurers have no qualms denying coverage to people that might actually need it by insurance companies refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. This commonly happens when people change jobs. For an example of a pre-existing condition, consider this article detailing how women needing C-Sections are denied coverage or this link describing how previous victims of domestic violence were denied coverage.
  

• Incomplete Coverage: Many insurance policies do not fully cover people for maternity care and other needs as described by this woman whose insurance company left her with $22,000 bill after having a baby.

If the United States government does not come together to reform the health insurance industry, it is highly unlikely the industry will stop taking advantage of the American people.