Oh, this is so wrong

Insurer targeted breast cancer patients to cancel: Government: Software flagged new cases, sought reasons to drop policies

None of the women knew about the others. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders — more than any other health insurance company in the United States.

The women all paid their premiums on time. Before they fell ill, none had any problems with their insurance. Initially, they believed their policies had been canceled by mistake.

They had no idea that WellPoint was using a computer algorithm that automatically targeted them and every other policyholder recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The software triggered an immediate fraud investigation, as the company searched for some pretext to drop their policies, according to government regulators and investigators.

Once the women were singled out, they say, the insurer then canceled their policies based on either erroneous or flimsy information. WellPoint declined to comment on the women's specific cases without a signed waiver from them, citing privacy laws.

There's even a name for the practice. It's called rescission. And it is so very, very wrong. I hope the government wins its case. And unfortunately, although men are also victims of rescission, it's very much a women's issue:

"It's not like these companies don't like women because they are women," says Jeff Isaacs, the chief assistant Los Angeles City Attorney who runs the office's 300-lawyer criminal division. "But there are two things that really scare them and they are breast cancer and pregnancy. Breast cancer can really be a costly thing for them. Pregnancy is right up there too. Their worst-case scenario is that a child will be born with some disability and they will have to pay for that child's treatment over the course of a lifetime."

The article looks at several factors in depth. Check it out. Also, WellPoint has lots of subsidiaries. One of the women spotlighted in the article is from Louisville. Her carrier was Anthem Blue Cross of Kentucky, one of the largest insurance companies in the state. It might be good to investigate who your insurance company answers to. Mine is UnitedHealthcare, which is part of UnitedHealth Group, one of other 'big' insurers nationally. So far, I can't say anything particularly negative about my care; they've done very well, although as time has gone by our benefits have lessened over time, but that's a 'what can the company afford' sort of thing. Still, I must say, my continued well-being depends on my health insurance, given my diabetes, among other ailments. Losing it or having it drastically reduced is a fear of mine.