Home » Health & Wellness » Public Health Issues » Minnesota Says BC/BS Denies Kids Coverage

Minnesota Says BC/BS Denies Kids Coverage

© Adelle Vancil Tilton

While a lot of information has been publicized about the number of Americans who have no health care coverage, but very little has been done for those who have coverage which is useless. When a person pays hundreds of dollars per month for coverage, finding out that it will not pay for treatment may come as a shock. Unfortunately, this is happening more and more as insurance companies and HMO's attempt to increase profits by reducing coverage.

But never have I heard of a situation like the one happening in Minnesota with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Acccording to charges filed by the State Attorney General, Mike Hatch, Blue Cross has engaged in the practice of denying care for children with claims for mental illness, substance abuse and eating disorders. Unfortunately, that is only the tip of the iceberg. What this giant company is charged with doing affects the taxpayers in that state and every other state in one way or another.

According to a story on Healthmall.com, it seems that it's not enough for BC/BS to deny treatment, but they have overstepped their bounds by suggesting that parents of children with these conditions "use the juvenile justice system" to obtain treatment that should be covered by the parent's policies, or even worse, place their children in foster care to obtain state benefits.

Imagine, first the insurance companies have taken control of the medical profession, often changing the way physicians are allowed to practice medicine by placing limits on hospital stays, etc., and now this. Not only do they feel they have the right to manage health care, but now they have the right to manage child placement, legal, and family issues for their policy holders as well.

The issue of not paying isn't exclusive to Blue Cross, since it is reported that many insurers do not follow through on the policies that they have written and collected payments on, sometimes for years. However, this story goes beyond the limits of descency and moves into the range of abuse of power. And who gave them the power? No one, not the government, not the companies who utilize their services for their employees, and certainly not the policy holders who pay and pay and pay. No, they simply appear to have seen an opportunity to cut spending on these disabled children and turn a profit. Hats off to Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch for seeing the problem and doing something about it!

The copyright of the article Minnesota Says BC/BS Denies Kids Coverage in Public Health Issues is owned by . Permission to republish Minnesota Says BC/BS Denies Kids Coverage in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.