UnitedHealthcare: Stranger than fiction

Uninsurance insurance.  Yep, that's the latest arrow in the quiver of health care insurance giant UnitedHealthcare.  As it loses covered lives thanks to layoffs of folks insured through employer-sponsored plans, UHC is looking to pick up a few bucks by selling insurance to folks who are currently insured but fear they might not be at some time in the future.  By paying 20% of what their health insurance premiums would be, folks can lock in access to health insurance in the future having to worry about pesky details like pre-existing conditions and personal risk profiles that would pump up premiums in non-community-rated jurisdictions.

At least two fellow Health Wonks have weighed in already: Bob Laszewski lays bare the folly in this endeavor in a Julie Rovner piece on NPR, and Joe Paduda shakes his head in wonderment at Managed Care Matters. 

Here's the thing: between COBRA (which lets you buy continuation coverage post-employment at essentially the same rate — yes it's expensive, but it's no more expensive than what UHC is offering to guarantee access to), and the right under HIPAA to buy insurance individually or through a new group plan even after a gap in coverage if you have sufficient "creditable coverage," with no pre-existing condition exclusions, most bases are already covered.

UnitedHealthcare's move looks to be a cynical combination of fearmongering and a bet against meaningful health care reform under an Obama administration.

David Harlow
The Harlow Group LLC
Health Care Law and Consulting