Thanks for posting that. I have a BS of CA high-deductable PPO policy. Eep.

Jesus! I knew they were slimy but I'd never heard of the retroactive thing happening.

This has always been one of the largest considerations to make before deciding to work for oneself. Hardly any potential entrepreneurs think to have their lawyers preview their family health insurance policies.

Can't this happen to the employed just as easily?

Generally not in group plans. As the article states, these cancellations were for personal plans.

Not that a group plan can't bankrupt a family as well. Even with VA benefits and group insurance, my share of costs for major heart disease still ended in foreclosure and bankruptcy. Now that I am disabled, student loans still want me to make full payments on disability income. Hell, even the IRS has given me bigger breaks than student loans have.

It can happen in group plans. I belong to a union (have to, no one has a choice). We have a LIFETIME cap of $250,000.00 of coverage. They don't pay for (I'm going to spell this wrong) anesthesiologists (just hit me with a mallet before surgery). A co-worker has an infection under his wisdom teeth, in his jaw. We have ONE oral surgeon in our plan (some 3,000 members) and he told my co-worker that he can't do the surgery as he doesn't have the facilities. Hello? WTF? I had a stepson who had a bit of a mental breakdown last year, the police took him to the emergency room as he threatened to kill himself and had cut himself. My company claims "Not a covered service". Ridiculous. We'd make out better with no insurance at all as charity cases.

I used to feel bad about being uninsured.

Not any more.

When I see things like this and the abandonment of the population of New Orleans by the US government, I have to wonder how the US grew to be such a world power. I can only assume (being pretty much ignorant of US history, which means I should probably shut up now) that this has not always been the case - has the US ever had universal health care, or has the government only ever had any interest in healthy citizens? I just can't seem to get over the fact that one of the wealthiest nations in the world so thoroughly and consistently shits on its own people in this way.

What.
The.
Fuck.
America?