September 15, 2009
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Getting Beaten By Your Husband is a Pre-Existing Condition
Getting beaten up by your husband is a pre-existing medical condition in 8 states.
The thinking is that “if you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you’re more likely to get beaten again than the average person and therefore more expensive to insure. Here is the link: Link
This makes perfect sense. I am not sure why we should all pay higher medical insurance premiums for women who have decided to live in high risk situations.
Do you think getting beaten should be a medical pre-existing condition?
Comments (112)
Uh, no.
I think no.
It’s complicated.
……………………..
i dont get it
No more than getting beat up for your lunch money is.
makes sense to me.
@Dare2BDiferentt - I couldn’t have said it better myself.
As a fact it is, but such facts do not go over very well
@visualfusion - whoa… that’s pretty uncalled for.
It’s ridiculous and the kind of nonsense inspired by a Capitalistic Health Care system.
Not a pre-existing MEDICAL condition but from a practical standpoint the risk is higher so from a business standpoint the payment should be higher. Let’s take it a step further- smoking, drinking, not getting sufficient sleep, being over/under weight… all pre-existing/high risk conditions. It makes practical sense to charge more on the premium.
I wish insurance wasn’t such a scam.
My god, this is tons of material for the “say something to offend” crowd! TONS I SAY
THE ARGUMENT COULD GO ON FOREVER
WTF? I don’t think so. Getting beaten is not your problem it’s the persons who did it to you. Not everyone stays in a bad relationship like that.
I would not be surprised about this kind of bullshit with private insurers.
I’m so glad I have government insurance.
No profit to worry about >>> me not getting dropped when I get sick.
The source you linked says this:
“In human terms, it’s a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence.”
I disagree. Staying with a spouse that physically abuses you is the second punishment. Raising your insurance is the consequence of your idiotic choice to stay with your abusive husband.
Abusive people do not change.
@maxxi2031 - It is only a preexisting condition if you come back for seconds and thirds, Then it is a lot like intentionally beating your head against a concrete block. A mental illness which you would think would be a untreated chronic contention that started before the first beating.
@OhItWontBeForever - It was Visualfusion
Weeeeellll it kinda makes sense. If your husband beat you before he was your husband, and you still married him, you know theres a risk he’ll do it again. Do i think they should have to pay higher insurance premiums? No way. But do i think these women need serious help. Definately. I was beat by my father on a regular basis, The day after I turned 18 I moved out. There is NO WAY I would think of staying with a man who did that. I wouldn’t have stayed in my fathers house if I had any other option.
Wow! No, it should not. But the men who abuse ought to be held accountable to pay it all back! And the women should definitely get some serious help.
@trunthepaige - I agree. I have a friend that would fall under that category. But say, if someone I had been with for a long time suddenly started beating me, I of course would leave, but does that mean I should fall under that group? I would have a cow if my premiums went up.
No.
No, because that’s discrimination. Just like we’re not testing people for HIV for medical insurance purposes we shouldn’t do it for women who are victims of domestic violence.
Domestic violence is also more than just physical, its also psychological damage.
@maxxi2031 - Not the first time its if you keep going back
This almost sounds like a myth. It’s not. Huh. It’s proof that health-insurance companies are nothing to feel sorry for and defend.
Women who have been beaten do tend to fall back into abusive relationships again… but usually those women are the women who haven’t gotten the proper support and mental help that they need to get out of the rut that being abused puts you in, especially in the way that you view yourself after being abused.
I fell in and out of abusive relationships for awhile because I was too afraid to tell anyone that my bf was beating me because I was ashamed that I would deserve such treatment. If you tell a woman that her premiums will go up for being beaten, will the likelihood that she won’t report it or try to get help also go up? I believe so.Women who are abused should be supported, and get help. That is how you will eliminate the ‘risks’ of them being with more abusive men- not by punishing them for something that they might not even understand is wrong.
What the…?! NO!
Hell no.
@trunthepaige - Ok I misread it then….it makes some sort of sense now.
I think you should be able to get insurance that doesn’t cover the beatings at the same cost as normal insurance.
And this creates yet another reason for women not to report their significant others for beating them, another disempowering factor in the lives of women in these eight states. Another statistic is that women who report their abusive men are less likely to get beaten up again and also less likely to be killed. I believe allowing insurance companies to treat victims of domestic violence like this discourages women from reporting and thus is actually potentially leading to more deaths. For many women, reporting the violence is a step in a process of getting out- it doesn’t always happen all at once. So don’t bash on them just because they haven’t all left yet. Many of them eventually will, but it seems like stuff like this makes them less likely to take that step.
@maxxi2031 - understanding it doesn’t mean I really like it. The concept makes sense but it is not necessarily a good thing.
@trunthepaige - I don’t like it either. Maybe it would spur some women to stop going back though.
@maxxi2031 - If it did that then it is a good thing
Um, let’s see… NO.
In Obama Momma Care all will be fixed……….
I get the point, but I know that most of these women are not always in a position to leave. I guess I would have to go with no.
other people shouldn’t have to pay higher premiums if women fall into abusive relationships out of their own free will. That is what the police is for.
Buh huh… hmm there are a lot of things to consider when thinking about this, and consequently I cannot find a clear cut answer.
No.
A medical condition? Depends on whether there’s been some sort of psychological issue that has been diagnosed. Then I would be more likely to possibly consider it as a preexisting condition. Odd.
Is this a question on insurance forms?
Dan, why are all the Xanga network sites at the bottom of your page?
No, it shouldn’t be a pre-existing condition. What if the woman won’t leave because she’s afraid he’ll kill her or her kids if she tries? She needs resources to safely escape, not an insurance restriction.
Lol, definitely not.
Health insurance companies suck. They serve no real function except push paper around and charge a premium for it. Part of the reason health care is so damn expensive is because of these useless middle men.
Human life should not rest upon whether it’s profitable for a company’s bottom line or not. It’s time to make a significant change in the way the US views health care.
The first offence should be covered. Any sequencial events should not be.
I see their point, but I don’t care to defend it. I wouldn’t call it a ‘medical condition’.
Over the past 25 years, power in our health care system has shifted from the patient to the corporation. A professional, the physician has pledged to put his patients’ interests ahead of his own financial interests. The corporation, by contrast, is legally bound to put its shareholders’ interests first. Thus, many decisions about how to allocate healthcare dollars have become marketing decisions.
no it should not be. WHY? If you tend to marry the beatin’ kind, there’s a problem. My husband is an attorny and he’s seen “repeat offenders” in that he will advise the divorcees NOT to get on the dating track and just take care of their kids or themselves. Seldom do they listen and often do they marry the same lousy sort. WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT THAT?! Pre-existing condition, my eye. I know a lot of you might not think so, but you asked for an opinion!
JP
I’m waiting for the day where “being born” is a pre-existing condition.
@TransportPhenomena - Neither the first nor a “sequential” instance of getting beaten is an offense”.
No. There are a lot of women that are basicly being held hostage by their abusive spouse with no way to leave and too scared to report the abuse. By the same token there are women who report being beaten when their husband has not done so. One of my best friends wife is such a woman,she has called the police on him countless times and accused him of abuse because he will not leave her medication where she can get to it since she has overdosed many times. I have helped him search his house looking for where she has hidden her pills. She is manic depressive and schizophrenic and can not be trusted as far as you can throw a one ton truck. But there is no way that he can divorce her (he has talked to his lawyer about it) because he is aware of her mental condition and the courts say that divorcing her would be the same as abandonment,so he is stuck in a terrible situation.
I’m going to go with no on this one…but I can understand the economics behind it.
“Decided” is the wrong word. A predisposition (in this case, psychological) would imply a level of unconscious action. Do you blame schizophrenics for their condition? How about post traumatics and avoidants?
On a side note, your plug about “great minds” is inaccurate: some of the greatest minds in history (Plato, Einstein, Thoreau, Wilde) were ceaselessly fascinated by people and the human condition and discussed such things at great length throughout their careers.
it’s debateable…
Evil life of them
Lets find out.. I’ll beat you and then you tell me…
um, nooo.
Pre-existing condition? No. But I would say it shows they’re willing to live a risky lifestyle.
No! Thats crazy!
No, men who beat their wives probaly have mental disorders.
what up Dan I still got love for ya alot of people here lately sure have been giving you hell huh.
The cure is simple though anti-freeze in lime gelatin.
Nope that shouldnt be so…
I look @ it this way. It costs thousand’s of dollars to pay for a hospital stay when someone beats up their SO. If they make the choice to STAY in that relationship, then yes, I think they deserve to pay higher insurance premiums. There really is no excuse for staying in that kind of relationship. If they make the choice to leave their abusive SO, then I think we should be doing everything we can to help them. But I don’t feel sorry for the ones who choose to stay. Make all the excuses in the world (children, love, finances, fear, etc), I really don’t care. My mom left my abusive father when I was just 7 months old. She had no money, no job, and lived 3,000 miles away from her family. If she can do it, they can. Mind you, this was back in the 80′s when being a single parent was still considered taboo in certain circles.
Ahhh Christianity at work. To insure and treat everyone even a beating victim is the work of Satan.
The more I see from Christians, the more I think that the dude with pointy horns wrote their book.
that’s terrible! that really goes to show just how much companies don’t care about people, just numbers.
I mean, technically.
@Ro_ad808 - Exactly.
Can’t argue with the stats.
Wow that’s kind of a heartless thing.
And I would imagine it would make getting out of such a relationship and starting a new life even harder. Are we so selfish of a society that we want to further disincentivize getting out of an abusive relationship?
Have we forgotten we are actually in a society?
Yes, this is one of those things that play on emotion. I have an opinion; it’s based on logic, but it is just an opinion.
1. My mom was abused by her first husband. She didn’t have health insurance.
2. I don’t have insurance. I use natural medicines whenever possible.
3. As a child, I determined that if anyone were to abuse me like that, he would die.
It’s a sad story, and both sides are right. Poor woman, get the f— outta there! I support woman’s shelters.
@tendollar4ways - where did that come from? To whom are you posting that? Don’t dis the book. You, and most so-called Christians don’t know what’s really in there.
I don’t consider something like that a medical condition; it’s a condition of the mind that needs to be dealt with.
@Alatariel40 - I figure I am posting to God. All I see is Christians on the TV, Radio and out in the streets calling Obama a Nazi and a fascist for wanting to reform this Bullshit. As for the Bible, I figure there has to be something in thier about the fact ya gotta let poor people die if they get sick or hit by a car…..specially if it is gonna cost ya some profits if you treat them.
uh..what? And no.
That’s just wrong.
no
bye bye, Xanga:
http://greenbird321.blogspot.com
http://greenbird321.blogspot.com
http://greenbird321.blogspot.com
No. Abusive relationships are already difficult enough for women who are in them. They don’t choose to live that situations so much as they feel like it’s safe. We all know it isn’t, and I’m sure if they weren’t in the relationship they would realize it isn’t, but once you’re drowning in a situation like that, you don’t understand how hard it is to see “common sense.”
No one should have to pay for idiocy but that’s the way it works unfortunately.
@emberfly_layouts - No, abusive people do not change. But the people living with them DO change. They become more afraid to leave, and even afraid of the outside world. Sometimes they don’t imagine that it COULD be better. They simply continue to live that way because it’s the only thing they know, and they’re scared to do anything else. That is not the fault of the abused person — that’s the fault of the abuser.
Pre-existing medical condition, my pale white ass.
is it me? or are these capitalists getting way out of hand here? what’s going on with our country? on one hand, you have the private health insurance that’s trying to rob you blind…on the other hand, there’s the public health insurance we can’t afford for possibly mediocre care…
i tend to agree. granted i certainly would not condone it, but there are women AND men who just keep hangin’ in there and accept it ! it does happen to men also.
@CaffeineClarity - you hit it right on the head (oops, bad choice of words) !
@maeberry2007 - there is not nearly enough common sense these days !
@greenbird321 - bye, bye to you. what’s your problem ?
@droptop11 - eh, xanga and I have a deep and complex history–my blog will offer a bit more freedom…
okie dokie.
wtf?
doesn’t matter, get rid of preconditions.
but then, i got to thinking… what about drunks? what about people who don’t take care of themselves? druggies? people who abuse the system to make false accusations against doctors? women who go back to their abusive husbands, even though, people/cops/etc try to help them get out…
the sad stories are the people with diseases that are left out, which is just plain bad. the other side of the coin are the people who put themselves into their situations. I never thought of it, unitl now…
what say you all? im curious….
It shouldn’t matter. No pre-existing conditions should prevent one from getting insured health care.
I have been abused, and wouldn’t go back to the same guy. If, by chance, I came across another abuser… well, I don’t know if that could be considered a condition. Maybe I’m designed to pick up on specific character traits in men..? Who knows. I think a woman who decides not to leave a guy who she knows will hurt her (when she has a safe place to go and support) is kinda asking for it. I know it’s hard to leave… on many levels. I was there, it took me 4 years to leave.. but I left.
@emberfly_layouts - Yeah I saw.
It’s just, they deleted their comment so when I came, I didn’t see their name and didn’t think to go back to my e-mail to check, haha. 
They should make it like with speeding tickets. I don’t know if this runs true in every state, but in IL if you haven’t gotten a speeding ticket in so long you can opt to take a defensive driver’s course instead of getting your insurance hiked up. Perhaps make it so that if the woman doesn’t go to some sort of social worker/therapist/psychologist that the insurance premium will go up until she does or takes some other sort of progressive action.
@UnblemishedHonesty - I agree. It sucks that people who happen to be uninsured and come down with a condition that is not a result of poor life decisions can’t get insured. Then there’s people who constantly drink and drive or do acid and try to jump off their roof who hardly get any resistance to get insured. Although it would be very hard to figure out a way to base insurance off of how well someone takes care of themselves.
How old is this information though…I ask because I received an email citing this but when I examined it closer–some of the information goes back to 1995.
With that said…the injuries that resulted from the abuse would be “pre-existing” conditions by the strictest definition. Ex. Someone is beaten badly about the head, and loss of hearing occurs, that would be considered pre-existing. Now, should it be held against the person? Yes, if they want the coverage, they should pay for it. I know that sounds unfair….it shouldn’t prevent someone from getting health insurance.
@UnblemishedHonesty - alcoholism, drug use would be considered pre-existing conditions as well. And yes, I think, you should pay more….if my drinking caused my liver to fail, then I should be expected to pay more for treatment.
Personally though….I would love to see pre-existing conditions banished, but am not sure how that would work….
Private run health care is more worried about profits than people? Imagine that.
The rising costs of getting beaten up these days…
no.
lol
well, some insurances are less likely to take you based on mental illnesses in past so it stands to reason.
what? no. not at all.
No, not unless you are willing to refuse treatment to people who ride motorcycles without helmets, speed excessively, drive while drinking, don’t wear seat belts, ride a bicycle without a helmet, continue to play a sport after an injury and I could go on and on. All of these are putting yourself in a situation where you are more likely to be injured and you do it of your own free will. They should all be denied hospital coverage under this kind of reasoning.
Complicated. People do tend to migrated to a comfort zone even though it may not be the best situation for them. But we all know health insurance is a big bunch of money hungry hippos.
@maxxi2031 - I couldn’t have said it better myself. It’s not a pre-existing condition, no it’s the person who’s hitting the wife’s problem.
Most often, the women in these situations can’t leave them because their abuser has taken away their resources. They don’t have a car, they’re not allowed to work, they aren’t allowed to contact family, and they’re seriously afraid that their abuser will hurt their children and family if they try to leave. People who say “Just leave” have not had experience with real women who’ve been through this. It is NOT that easy.
And as for the policy, it’s complete bullshit. The insurance companies should be ashamed of themselves. As one comment in the article said, the companies don’t consider being in a beer brawl a “pre-existing condition” but they consider a woman getting beat one? The woman is not doing anything wrong–the person in the bar fight IS, and they would cost just as much to insure.
What makes you think that any woman that gets beat would report to insurance anyway? they have a hard enough time just reporting it to the proper authorities. I have a great idea. Lets just make it even harder for these women, by degrading them more than before by having them report it for insurances purposes. I swear…some of the stuff you come up with? are you sure you’re not smoking crack??
Hell no, how is that a medical condition?
Um not a pre existing medical condition. But if they have every chance to get away andstill stay they are ivng a high risk lifestyle and I can understand the insurance company asking JUST THEMto pay more. Kind of like they do for smokers and over/under weight people (I know I’m under weight and they charge me more than my husband.)
Ha, what?!
The batterer should be in question, not the victim.
This argument reminds me of blaming the victims of rape. “Well, if she hadn’t had that tight, sexy dress on, she wouldn’t have been raped. She was asking for it.” This is bullshit.
1. Health insurance should not be able to drop anyone for getting sick.
2. Health insurance should cover pre-existing conditions. Period. The end. And everyone agrees.
No, and I have very little respect for you if you would say it “makes perfect sense”.
Every “pre-existing condition” I’ve heard of has been ridiculous. They shouldn’t exist, everyone should be insured.