Insurance for Insurance

by Golda Philip, Fellow
National Women’s Law Center

As reported in a recent New York Times article, the health insurance company UnitedHealth has a brand-new product. The company is selling the right to buy an individual health policy with the company at some point down the road when you may need it. Yes, what we’re talking about here is insurance for insurance. This new offer is meant to “reassure” those who currently have insurance but are (rightly) concerned that they may lose their coverage in the future and then have insurers deny them coverage when they try to obtain it again for themselves.

But first, let’s give credit where credit is due. UnitedHealth, in offering this “guarantee of insurance,” reveals critical problems with our current health care system, especially with the individual market, a market that is particularly hostile towards women. Today, you or I could lose our health insurance if we lose our jobs, or if our employers stop offering coverage, and be left to purchase health insurance directly from insurance companies in the individual market. In the current economic situation in which thousands of jobs are being lost every day, this has already become a frightening reality for too many. And while laws require insurance companies to cover individuals who get insurance through their employers even if they have pre-existing conditions or poor health histories, there are few adequate protections that stop insurance companies from rejecting individuals who are looking to buy coverage on their own.

So while UnitedHealth’s offer has exposed significant problems with our health care system, their solution isn’t much of one. If you’re sick right now, you can’t buy their new insurance—presumably because they assume that if you’re sick now, you’ll be sick later and too costly to insure. Importantly, this new insurance also doesn’t guarantee how much you’ll have to pay for your insurance down the road. This may mean that even though the company has to offer you a plan when you ask for one, they can charge you whatever they want for it. Especially if you’re sick, this may mean that the plan they offer you is an unaffordable option. This makes the money you paid every month for this new insurance a complete waste for you and free money for UnitedHealth.

For all these reasons, my guess is that not many people will opt to pay an additional monthly fee to purchase a future “right to health insurance.” If nothing else, this new offer reminds us that we don’t need a “right to health insurance” at some point in the future. What we need is health reform that guarantees affordable, comprehensive, quality insurance for all—right now.

Comments

[CA NOW]

We linked to this in a post at the CA NOW blog, "Health Care Crisis Worsens, But There's Still a Chance to Fix It" http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2008/12/health-care-crisis-worsens.html