Iowa Insurance Subscriber with $1 Million Per Month Claims

[NWBenefitProvider]

Hard to imagine, but I guess it's true.


Iowa teen

 

[junkman]

I'd like to see some claims data from one of the carriers. A simple large group renewal covering 2 or 3 years would suffice. It would be interesting to compare with an in-house group.

 

[RayNY]

Last year, when Wellmark requested 38-43% rate increases, it was reported that 10% of that was for this single member.

 

[AllenChicago]

Hard to imagine, but I guess it's true.


Iowa teen

Thanks. I've been wondering for a year if this person was old young male female. This latest Revelation helps a lot.

 

[Surancedawg]

This might sound cruel, but no person's life is worth $1 million a month. So you're going to destroy an entire state's system of health insurance to keep one sickly person alive, thus risking the lives of thousands & thousands of others who will be without health insurance they can afford? Seems like just another example of the all too common sacrificing the many for the benefit of the few that we see in 21st century America.

 

[AllenChicago]

I think this teenager is going to have to access some government program for 2018 anyway.

 

[junkman]

This might sound cruel, but no person's life is worth $1 million a month.

Yep, sounds cruel but brings up a question. Exactly how much is a person's life worth? Should we make the cut at 1/2 million per month, 1/2 million per year, $250k/yr? How about $250k life time?

Reminds me of the time when a wife wanted $1m in life ins. The husband didn't because "he didn't want some other man living off his money". Fortunately, I'd read that objection in training and said that was a good reason to buy because otherwise she'd have to find someone to help raise his sons.

Next objection was that that much would spoil the kids. I suggested that he & his wife should figure out how much wouldn't spoil the kids and that we'd put that amount in-force while he's thinking about it. He could always change the amount later. Apparently, sleeping with his wife was preferable to the couch and I collected a check ... from the wife who incidentally handled the check book and all of the luvin in the house (currently).

So, what's a life worth. Should we set a limit for those who can't write a check? How about all those old people on Medicare sucking down resources? Are you ready to kick Granny to the curb?

Inquiring minds want to know. At what price? Adjusted for medical inflation?

 

[RayNY]

So, what's a life worth. Should we set a limit for those who can't write a check? How about all those old people on Medicare sucking down resources? Are you ready to kick Granny to the curb?

Inquiring minds want to know. At what price? Adjusted for medical inflation?

Some argue all life is priceless and precious and must be preserved at any cost. Some argue life is worth what it's earned, and if you can't afford treatment you don't deserve to live. Some argue life is worth what it can contribute to society, and some math can deliver a cutoff figure.

Question only gets more complex as you consider other people's money vs. your money, chronic conditions vs. accidents, probability of success (eg: cancer treatment, persistent vegetative states), and terminal conditions where you're simply buying time.

We've defaulted to the "all life is precious" stance with the elimination of caps, which leads to situations like this one.

 

[VolAgent]

This might sound cruel, but no person's life is worth $1 million a month. So you're going to destroy an entire state's system of health insurance to keep one sickly person alive, thus risking the lives of thousands & thousands of others who will be without health insurance they can afford? Seems like just another example of the all too common sacrificing the many for the benefit of the few that we see in 21st century America.

As Junkman said, what is one person's life worth? Where do you want to draw the line? Is the line different for a child versus a working age adult versus a retired senior?

Even with all the calculators for "human life value" and precedent from past decisions, courts still struggle with the value of a life every day.

While it may seem easy, and certainly this is an out sized case, deciding just how much to spend to save a life is a huge ethical question.

What if we set the limit at $1 million, which by the way was part of Obamacare, getting rid of lifetime limits in health insurance. What if the cost of care is only going to be $1,000,100. Do we spend the $1,000,000 and stop there, $100 short of saving the person's life? Do we calculate that the first million is wasted if we don't spend the last $100 and don't do anything? Or do we make an exception, and then make an exception for $1,010,000, and so on?

 

[scagnt83]

I would question the charges themselves... or the need for that amount of them.

When you have an unlimited piggy bank, you can find lots of "needs" for a sick person.

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But the issue of where to draw the line is a real one. We spend billions of dollars per year to keep dying people alive just a few weeks longer. Yet in some areas of our cities, we have otherwise perfectly healthy children who are half starving. We have schools that are crumbling and dysfunctional. But who cares how much it cost to keep an already dying 80 year old alive (often in extreme pain) for 1 extra month out of 900+ months.

Dont get me wrong, people deserve to end life with dignity and in as much comfort as possible. But if Im 80, and its between money to keep me alive 2 more months, or money to keep a child alive for the rest of their life.... I choose the kid.

Its a complex moral dilema. Just because we can do something, doesnt mean that we always should. I have a feeling the line will always be moving in one way or another as society develops.