Aetna CEO: I would be turned down for health insurance

[kpete]

Source: McClatchy

Aetna CEO: I would be turned down for health insurance

WASHINGTON — To a greater degree than most insurance company chiefs, Mark Bertolini has encountered his own personal challenges with the health care system.

Bertolini, the head of insurer Aetna, faced a tough time in 2001 when his teenage son Eric was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that was considered incurable. Bertolini moved into his son's hospital room for more than a year during treatment. At one point, his son's prognosis was so grim that the family decided to place him in hospice, a move that meant signing "do not resuscitate" orders and making other difficult decisions.

That experience, Bertolini says, later helped guide him to make changes to hospice policy at Aetna to make it easier for families. His son survived — with the help of a kidney transplant in 2007 from Bertolini — and is now 25 and studying particle physics.

In 2004, Bertolini himself came close to death after breaking his neck in a skiing accident, leaving him with some permanent injuries. He readily admits that his health problems likely would mean he'd be rejected for coverage if he were to seek a policy on the individual market today. After 2014, however, insurers such as Aetna will no longer be able to reject applicants for medical reasons under the health care law approved by Congress last year. That year, most Americans also will be required to buy coverage, a policy called the "individual mandate."





Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/04/10/111921/aetna-ceo-i-would-be-turned-down.html#ixzz1JB1M7U35

[gateley]

1. K&R. nt

[Marie Marie]

2. Yes, no one will be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions BUT,

at what price? Nobody ever talks about that. I'm certain that will never be a problem for Mr "I see the Light" Bertolini.

[snappyturtle]

7. I think you're right---at what price? NO ONE mentions THAT! nt

[iris27]

11. Part of the law is that they can't charge you more for having a PXC, either. n/t

[eridani]

15. Wonderful--so they just jack the rates sky-high for everyone n/t

[PM Martin]

3. Health "Insurance" companies are scams.

Nothing more than greedy middlemen who get between Doctors and Patients.

[kestrel91316]

4. Agreed. They shouldn't even exist.

[Harmony Blue]

6. Agreed!

The disconnect between the patient and the doctor is the biggest reason why it is a mess in the U.S.

[999998th word]

12. I was hoping they would be extinct by now,along with medical bill collectors.ALL SCUM

--and both industries are thriving,F**ing buzzards .Feeding off peoples misfortune.

[bertman]

5. Hey, I've got health insurance. My wife has health insurance. But after paying

the premiums we can't afford the deductibles and copays and would go broke trying to pay off the bills from a major medical event.

But, hey, we have health insurance. We are a positive statistic.

[snappyturtle]

8. That's exactly why I had to drop mine. I paid outrageous premiums

that hiked up annually plus a ten thousand dollar deductible with a 70-30 payout....obviously this would be used for something catastrophic but the 30 percent of the total would be impossible.

[jannyk]

9. We have exactly what you describe and will be dropping it real soon.

Worthless piece of expensive shit policy!

[madamesilverspurs]

10. Aetna

pressured my brother's employer into firing him when his son was diagnosed with cerebral palsey. He was management level, but that didn't stop them. Everywhere he applied he was turned down because of his baby's CP. He had to go back into the military in order to have any coverage for his child.

I'm glad that Bertolini's son is doing well. But Bertolini has had but a tiny taste of what Aetna has done to countless people over the years. In our family, Aetna is forever toxic.


-

[Golden Raisin]

13. While I'm sorry for the

personal travails of Mr. Bertolini and his family, Aetna summarily and suddenly did away with the (expensive but worthwile) plan I had purchased for years and replaced it with one which provided less and shoddier services, but cost 41% more.

[Myrina]

14. Well it's a good thing he makes $20M a year. He can pay cash at the hospital.

The rest of us? Notsomuch.