FREE HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES Start here...

Select Insurance Type:

Individual Health Family Health Group Health Small Business Health Short Term Health Medicare Supplemental Travel Insurance

Zip code:

Last month health insurance agency Blue Cross found itself in a PR nightmare when word leaked out that they were trying to force doctors to reveal if patients were lying on their insurance application, as a means of canceling their coverage.

This month, in a landmark decision aimed at protecting consumers, another health insurance agency must pay $9 million dollars for canceling coverage of a sick patient.

At ABC News it's reported that Health Net dropped coverage of a 52-year-old woman when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was left with $129,000 dollars in unpaid medical bills and no choice but to abandon her lifesaving treatment.

Thankfully a state-funded cancer program paid for her treatments at a later date, and now Health Net, like many other health insurance agencies, is finding that the old trick of canceling policies to save money won't be allowed to continue. In fact, the company also announced Friday that it had stopped the controversial practice of canceling sick policyholders' policies at all, and won't do so any more without advice from a third party.

Cases like these are reminding health insurance agencies that the consumer comes first in this market, just like any other. And, as the health care system sees more and more criticism, more and more change that will protect the American people is on the way.