An education in health insurance [View all]

Just got a lesson in health insurance. I don't qualify for traditional (major medical) insurance, so i have had one of these dubious "limited benefit" policies that are advertised on TV. I changed to a slightly cheaper policy sometime last yr. that had roughly the same coverage. I had a few Dr.'s visits earlier this yr. but now the insurance company is probably going to refuse to pay the measly $50.00 per visit (limit of 5 visits pr. yr.) my policy allows because they consider the conditions the Dr. was treating me for pre-existing conditions. I didn't realize there was a 12 month waiting period on "pre existing conditions." Luckily, even though I had quite a few blood tests and x-rays, this will not financially crush me if they not pay the little bit they would have paid for it. However, this makes me question whether it does any good to have insurance at all, which obviously would be a problem if I ended up in the hospital. My Dr. wants to do a heart scan that is on hold now because of this insurance problem. When we discuss health care in this country we are discussing real issues for real people. We need single payer.