SALT LAKE CITY — Recent policy changes and other issues have people in Utah and across the country speaking out about paying for their health care and their health insurance.
FOX 13 News, speaking to people in St. George, found that there’s an age gap. Younger people said they were satisfied with their health coverage but added that’s because they rarely have to use it. However those in a higher age bracket were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their health insurance and felt they weren't getting what they paid for.
Ruth Hines was just coming out of a doctor’s office with her husband. They received the bad news that others have said is happening more often. “My husband needs a procedure done and he said that as of this year they no longer will approve the entire procedure at one time that it has to be done in two different parts and, so your insurance is not gonna cover it,” Hines said.
Hines expressed the frustration many have. That it’s insurance brokers, not doctors, who are deciding on what treatments people get. “It's like you have to fight for everything,” she said. “It's frustrating but my husband's employers had good insurance but still a lot of times it's not enough.”
While the motives behind the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York on Wednesday are still to be determined, many have taken to social media to voice their displeasure at health insurers. Many posts say Thompson, who was fatally shot Wednesday, wouldn’t have qualified for health care because of a pre-existing condition.
According to Cigna Healthcare, a gunshot wound is not considered a pre-existing condition, though complications such as repeated infections and mobility impairments are. Even so, the Affordable Care Act made it illegal in 2010 for a healthcare provider to deny coverage based on a preexisting condition.
That said, there was also nationwide backlash earlier this week after Anthem Blue Cross in three states outside Utah said they would start denying claims in February for anesthesia surgeries that exceed a certain time limit. Blue Cross has since rolled back the change.
That said, some people FOX 13 News spoke to in a younger age bracket said health coverage wasn’t as big a concern to them because they rarely used it. Though, Lorenzo Trockel said he might need it at some point.
“I honestly I do a lot of, kind of like extreme sports,” Trockel said. “I'm OK paying it because I'm definitely going to need it pretty soon.”
Elyse Wilson, visiting St. George from Heber, said she has great insurance, but it's because her husband is a longtime public school district employee. She said she has sympathy for those dealing with high-cost health.
“I think things could be done,” Wilson said. “I think that there are policies that should change and I think insurance definitely takes a little more than they need to. But I don't know how to do that or how to get that.”
