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At People's Daily Online Journal, the story of a college student, who is suing Blue Shield of California for dropping him from his health insurance policy, reflects how difficult it is to get and keep quality insurance today. If the student wins this case, it could be a landmark decision for all of those who must pay for individual health insurance.

The student became ill while visiting relatives. He was hospitalized, and when the $9,000 bill was forwarded to Blue Shield of California, they dropped his coverage.

Unfortunately this isn't a new problem. As it's addressed in the article, "cancellations are an issue for consumers who buy their own coverage. Unlike job-based group coverage, which is guaranteed to all eligible employees regardless of health, individual insurance policies are medically underwritten, meaning that health plans choose their customers based on health status and per-existing conditions."

In other words, if they think you're likely to get sick, health insurance companies will either not cover you at all, or drop you when you need them the most.

But, should Blue Shield lose the case, thousands and thousands of people who were cut out of their individual health insurance could potential be reinstated. While health insurance agencies will probably fight the case tooth and nail, it's good to see that citizens are standing up for their healthcare rights.

And at least the case will draw more attention to the terrible state of health insurance in this country.