Just before his stem cell transplant: Insurers' recission of coverage

Peggy Raddatz, an Illinois resident, testified before a subcommiteee of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday that Fortis Insurance Company attempted to drop her brother Otto from coverage just before he was to receive a stem cell transplant to treat his lymphoma. According to Peggy, the company sought to cancel her brother's insurance because it said he had failed to disclose that he had previously suffered gallstones and an aneurysm when he first signed up for his insurance policy.

But, Peggy said, her brother had never been informed of those conditions. They showed up only in a CT scan that was never revealed to him, she said.

Eventually, the company relented after they received weeks of her phonecalls, and pressure to do so from the Illinois Attorney General's office. Peggy said most policyholders who lose their insurance are not as lucky. Indeed, insurers have culled many thousands of such beneficiaries from their rolls.

You can see the brief video of her testimony here.

Do you want the option to choose coverage through the government instead of an insurer's coverage?

Advice: Call your Congressman and insist that the coming health care law include a public insurance option.

Read a story on why President Obama feels so strongly about insurance company denials. Thanks to Patrick Yoest for the source story today in CNN Money.com.