Underwriters, the people who are in charge of assessing risk for insurance companies, have decided that baby Alex's pre-existing condition — obesity — makes him a high-risk patient and have denied him coverage.
(...)
At 17 pounds, Alex is in the 99th percentile for height and weight for babies his age. His parents were told insurance companies don't take babies above the 95th percentile, no matter how healthy.
Dr. Doug Speedie, medical director at insurance company Rocky Mountain Health Plans, told KKCO-TV, it’s possible for a baby to be above the 95 percentile and still be healthy, and admitted the system is flawed.
“Your weight is not an absolute determinate of health," Speedie said. “Unfortunately when we try to sell people insurance, a number has to be used as a cutoff."
And of course, people are going to say this proves the need for a public system.
More like the Insurance people have their heads up their butts.
How can you predict that a baby in the 99th percentile will be unhealthy? If anything, just the fact that the kid is a baby means he's a really safe bet.
UPDATE
Fat baby can get coverage after all, insurer says
Rocky Mountain Health Plans said Monday it will no longer consider obesity a "pre-existing condition" barring coverage for hefty infants. The change comes after the insurer turned down a Grand Junction 4-month-old who weighs about 17 pounds. The insurer deemed Alex Lange obese and said the infant didn't qualify for coverage.
The child's father works at NBC affiliate KKCO-TV in Grand Junction, and news accounts about the boy's rejection made national headlines.
