Woman Dies Waiting for ObamaCare Policy
According to a post on the A Line of Sight blog, this woman’s family policy was canceled by the ObamaCare regulations. She fell ill while waiting for her ObamaCare policy to take effect on February 2. In hindsight, she “should have gone to see a doctor,” but instead decided to wait so that her husband and four children wouldn’t be burdened by avoidable medical expenses.
The author of the article, her brother, concludes that the ObamaCare debate for his family ended “with the death of my sister. For us, it’s not about “policy,” anymore. It’s about the tragic consequences that can happen when the government decides to cancel the private economic decisions of individuals in favor of a huge policy experiment created in the back rooms of Washington by out-of-touch bureaucrats, statisticians and lobbyists.”
Although this is a extreme case, it still reflects the inefficiency of Obamacare.
No, it reflects the fear people have of medical based bankruptcies as stated above.
Also, it is the major insurance carriers who are failing on the enrollment side of PPACA. They were underprepared and understaffed.
I am an Agent and I see it every day.
This was a constant fear. And now it is real.
Yes, it is real.
The real question is how many people is this actually happening to? Most probably aren’t reporting their experiences to the media
I would not mind seeing a massive class action lawsuit against the gov’t. Trial lawyers are obnoxious, but they do effect change in the US.
The lawsuit would not win, I think, if it challenged the right of the states to regulate policies. The ACA law would not be sue-able in this case.
But it could blame the gov’t for the enrollment delays.
Also, I always wonder in these cases if the indvidual was offered an alternative policy by the insurer.
Thanks for the posting.
I suspect trial lawyers are in on this as well, Bob.
“For us, it’s not about “policy,” anymore. It’s about the tragic consequences that can happen when the government decides to cancel the private economic decisions of individuals in favor of a huge policy experiment created in the back rooms of Washington by out-of-touch bureaucrats, statisticians and lobbyists.”
This may get attention needed to make a push against obamacare
” It’s about the tragic consequences that can happen when the government decides to cancel the private economic decisions of individuals in favor of a huge policy experiment created in the back rooms of Washington by out-of-touch bureaucrats, statisticians and lobbyists.”
Yes, therein lies the problem.
“In hindsight, she “should have gone to see a doctor,” but instead decided to wait so that her husband and four children wouldn’t be burdened by avoidable medical expenses.”
This is a scary fact of our healthcare system. We choose whether to die with our family debt free or live a while longer and leave them in debt anyways.
No, this is a scary fact of government health care under Obamacare. In the private pre-Obamacare system, this woman had insurance and would not have dropped her old policy until the new policy was in force.
In this case, the government canceled her old policy before it guaranteed her new coverage.
Linda, I would never intrude on a family’s sorrow, but we do not know (at least I do not know) if the woman involved was offered a new policy by her then-current carrier.
Some cancellation letters stated that if no action was taken, the insured would automatically get a new product. (that is what happened in MN)
Other states were far more abrupt and destructiive.
I have to agree with Bob here. In my home state no one was cancelled, they were transferred to a compliant plan.
We have to expect bumps (and a few deaths) along the path to an utopian government-owned medical system. /sarc
Bloody revolution..
She died WHILE waiting, or she died BECAUSE OF waiting? Either scenario is plausible!
One awful challenge is that if we repealed Obamacare, there would be more months of disruption for many families.
The ACA has driven some insurers out of the business, and others are probably thinking about getting out of the business in a few years.