By
Submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
MBA 512: Health Policy and Law
Shepherd University
April 13, 2010
Abstract Imagine paying $500, $600, $700, or $1,000 monthly for health care insurance only to realize these payments were for naught. The health care insurance provider that received these monthly installments has decided whatever is ailing you will not be covered due to a pre-existing medical condition. What if you couldn’t have the luxury of health care insurance at all due to the basis the health care insurance provider has concluded you have a pre-existing medical condition? These are the dilemmas facing millions of Americans today in the current health care system. America’s health insurance companies exist to make a profit and not for the general well being of the persons they insure. To achieve a profit the health insurance companies must deny coverage claims when Americans need coverage the most or not cover these individuals in the first place. This is a problem that the United States is addressing, or trying to address, in heated debate on Capitol Hill. Many of our Republican politicians want to continue with the status quo of the health care system while Democrats seek to eliminate pre-existing conditions altogether. The American public has come to recognize there has to be a major overhaul of the current health care system starting with pre-existing conditions.
Pre-Existing Conditions Defined
The University of Pittsburg Medical Center defines a pre-existing condition as (University of Pittsburg Medical Center, 2011), “A medical condition that occurred before a program of health benefits went into effect”. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011) breaks down further what exactly the definitions for health insurance companies are varied by state. Their define the breakdown as “some states use an objective
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