They Know What's in Your Medicine Cabinet:
"That prescription you just picked up at the drugstore could hurt your chances of getting health insurance.
An untold number of people have been rejected for medical coverage for a reason they never could have guessed: Insurance companies are using huge, commercially available prescription databases to screen out applicants based on their drug purchases.
Privacy and consumer advocates warn that the information can easily be misinterpreted or knowingly misused. At a minimum, the practice is adding another layer of anxiety to a marketplace that many consumers already find baffling. 'It's making it harder to find insurance for people,' says Jay Horowitz, an independent insurance agent in Overland Park, Kan."
This would be funny if it weren't so disturbing.
We've been having a running joke at our house that our pharmacist is going to think I'm the most diseased man on the planet because I keep getting medications from my local grocer's $4 drug list for my dog!
I've been getting him antibiotics, oral and ophthalmic and topical, in a wide variety, steroids, and other stuff in my name because paying for these is far cheaper than at the vet's! Now none of these have been charged to my insurer, I strictly pay cash, but clearly my name will be in the databases with all these drugs. So next time I have to switch plans....
Friday, July 25, 2008
They Know What's in Your Medicine Cabinet
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2 comments:
Interesting, it just shows how the health care is wicked - for man cheaper than for dog :)
I am selling Toronto term life so I can see the battle among any insurance companies. The competition is very tight and no wonder, they are using all possible ways to protect themselves and "pick up" the best clients. Just wait for genetic testing! :) (or should I write :( ?)
Lorne
I think you're exactly right on the genetic testing. I've been telling my colleagues for years that I know exactly when we will get true reform in the US: When genetic testing is used for screening for insurance and the upper middle class find that they (or their kids) can't even buy insurance because of genetically determined susceptibilty to schizophrenia or alcoholism or breast cancer or MS or any of the other very expensive illnesses. Then the poo will hit the fan.
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