I just read the account of Starla Darling a young mother who was on maternity leave when her company abruptly filed for bankruptcy, effectively ending her insurance. Here is a recount of what happened next:
The crisis is on display here. Starla D. Darling, 27, was pregnant when she learned that her insurance coverage was about to end. She rushed to the hospital, took a medication to induce labor and then had an emergency Cesarean section, in the hope that her Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan would pay for the delivery.
This is pretty extreme but who can blame her? Most people with no insurance simply put off critical surgeries or procedures until they get the money or are covered, but you can't put off a pregnancy. And since her company filed for bankruptcy Cobra was not a viable option either. It turns out the insurer decided not to cover it, leaving Starling with a $17,000 bill.
I'm certain there will be hundreds of thousands of laid off workers losing coverage over the next 2 years and I wonder how many of them will have to go to extremes. I'm not sure there is a healthcare solution to prevent further Starling's, typically you would look to the government but both state and federal have their hands full with this quickly worsening recession and frankly the money for Obama's healthcare reform is probably off the table.
Maybe a short term solution is to revise Cobra to extend to bankrupt companies??? But even then the worker is responsible for 100% of their premiums and I'm not sure how many workers can afford that during unemployment?
I'm certain there will be hundreds of thousands of laid off workers losing coverage over the next 2 years and I wonder how many of them will have to go to extremes. I'm not sure there is a healthcare solution to prevent further Starling's, typically you would look to the government but both state and federal have their hands full with this quickly worsening recession and frankly the money for Obama's healthcare reform is probably off the table.
Maybe a short term solution is to revise Cobra to extend to bankrupt companies??? But even then the worker is responsible for 100% of their premiums and I'm not sure how many workers can afford that during unemployment?
One silver lining is that Starla's got a new little person which is pretty awesome!
