Shocked but sadly not surprised...

I can strongly identify with the subjects of these shorts. When I left college and applied for private health insurance I was denied because of my asthma and recommended for a high risk policy costing around $450 a month. It is a horrible feeling knowing that you may not be able to buy groceries or make rent just to be able to have the right to obtain health care.

I was shocked to discover in the Frontline video that insurance companies make a common practice of rescission. I was even more shocked to hear that some companies like Health Net gave rescission commission to employees. I was under the impression that obtaining medical insurance was a contract and although you could be dropped I am in utter disbelief that they could proactively rescind a policy, especially after the cancer patient had a costly and necessary surgery.

It was embarrassing as an American to continuously hear throughout the video that the US is the only developed country that allows hundreds of thousands of its citizens to go bankrupt due to medical bills. It should be a crime that loyal hard working Americans must sell their houses and possessions, file bankruptcy, not have necessary procedures, and have to wait around until they are old enough or poor enough to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid.

I am interested in learning more about the differences and similarities between private individual insurance and the government insurance being proposed currently. I am excited for this week's discussion and can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks.