One other outrage from Sarah Wildman's piece on how her health insurer tried to weasel out of paying for her pregnancy:
In early June, our billing disaster came to a head. A hospital administrator told us that because CareFirst had never bothered to let Shady Grove know our claim was under review, we had to pay, in full, in the next 90 days. Otherwise, the bill would be sent to collections. He cheerfully suggested we just “put it on a credit card;" the hospital had run a credit check on us and said we could afford it. He noted “upon arrival in the hospital you agreed to cover all costs regardless of insurance reimbursement.” Of course we had. After 12 hours of laboring at home, who wouldn’t sign a form to ensure proper medical treatment for mother and child? Plus, we thought we were covered.
I know nothing about contract law, but in what other context would a contract be enforceable if you'd only signed it because the other party threatened to harm or possibly kill your baby if you didn't?
But, hey, health care is just like any other consumer good, right?