Houstonian Experiences Insurance Industry's Worst Practices

Below is a story we received about someone in Houston that has first hand experience of the worst practices of the insurance industry. If you have a story, please be sure to send it in through email or through my Facebook page. We'll read them, and if you'd like your story shared, we'll make sure to include it on our website or in a future email.

Fred is a master electrician in Houston. He and his brothers, all electricians, formed their own small, family business in the 1980s. Fred has worked hard every day of his life, and as a result he and his brothers have grown their small business over the years, creating a successful company.

Fred has done work on buildings and schools and homes throughout Houston, including many in my own district.

Working for a small business, Fred has to pay very large premiums for very meager health insurance.

A month and a half ago, during his yearly checkup, a blood test showed he had elevated Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, which may indicate prostate cancer. Upon learning this news, Fred's health insurance company dropped him from his plan, leaving him uninsured and facing the prospect of dealing with cancer without health insurance.

Thankfully, after further tests, it appears that Fred's high PSA levels were triggered by a noncancerous condition. This condition, however, is now considered a preexisting condition that won't be covered under future insurance plans. As anyone who has gone through a similar experience can attest to, waiting for two weeks for results from more medical tests can be harrowing. Those two weeks wreak havoc on your mind, as you wait anxiously by the phone for the doctor's call. Imagine having to do that knowing that your insurance company shoved you off the plan you've been paying into for years, and that your new preexisting condition would not be covered by any new plan. Imagine having to pay out of pocket for a catastrophic illness like cancer.

No Texan – not the insured, underinsured, or uninsured – should have to delay medical coverage because it is too costly.

Fred's story is one that is repeated throughout our country every day. Hardworking men and women that do everything they are supposed to - go to work, buy insurance coverage, save and plan for the future - are vulnerable to an illness that an insurance company can refuse to cover.

That's wrong. Insurance companies shouldn't drop you if you come down with a serious illness. They shouldn't discriminate against you if you've got a preexisting condition. And they shouldn't recklessly raise premiums while they continue these terrible practices. Health care reform under consideration in Congress right now will end these practices by the insurance industry. The House has already passed a bill, we're now waiting on action in the Senate. We should be receiving good news about action in the Senate later today or tomorrow, when we hear it, we'll be sure to pass it on.