This makes me want to vomit. It is unconscionable, disgusting, and sexist. And it needs to change.

There's an interesting story on the same topic here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/insurance-companies-rape-_n_328708.html
It offers several other examples of women being denied health insurance on issues related to sexual assaults, such as PTSD being viewed as a preexisting condition.
It is absolutely horrible and takes victim-blaming to degrees that never even entered my consciousness before.

This is horrible, I can't even imagine what it would be like to have to deal with the emotional trauma of being raped, plus being dropped by your insurance coverage for it... What's even more appalling is that it's common enough that she was able to call somebody else working in the insurance field and that person knew how long she would have to go without coverage. It's almost like they plan on that happening.

On the side, gwen, antibiotics don't work on viruses, like HIV, she was probably prescribed anti-HIV or antiretroviral medication.

I cannot believe that they denied her health care. This is the reason why health care needs to have a reform. What is the point of health insurance if a patient cannot receive it when they really need it?

I can't watch the video for fear of being really, really upset to the point of crying over it. Was she really dropped from an existing plan, as opposed to the C-section/sterilization woman, who was denied new coverage?

Um. What the BLEEP is insurance FOR, people? Cue UNCONTAINED RAGE!!!

I'm a European and the country I live in is currently in a dire financial state, much, much worse than the US. I'm on the verge of being made redundant (ironically from a US company) and it would be highly unlikely that I could find similar work again locally. As I'm a high tech worker with a lot of contacts in the bay area of San Francisco I go through phases of thinking about relocating there for work. It seems logical; I'm there for meetings and conferences several times a year so I know the place, I have friends there, and I'm occasionally approached by other US tech companies asking if I'd be interested in working for them.

And then I see stuff like this.

And I figure that maybe I'm better off where I am.

Everyone needs to understand this: there is no such thing as private health insurance in this country. It can not be purchased. It does not exist.

You can _think_ you are being virtuous and prudent by paying for health insurance. You can pay for it every month for years and years, maybe even get a few minor claims reimbursed along the line. You might, over time, really become convinced that you are "insured." But I say again: there is no such thing.

The _moment_ you make a substantial claim, your insurer puts armies of lawyers and accountants to work, going over every detail of your medical history and your insurance application for some flaw, some tiny error or omission that allows them to rescind your policy. And they will find it. It doesn't have to be intentional, it doesn't have to be material, it doesn't have to have anything to do with your current sickness or injury.

Quick! Take a sheet of paper and write down every single visit you've ever had with a doctor or nurse in your life.

Think you might have missed one? Or gotten a date wrong? Or forgotten that you also had the dermatologist remove a wart that time you went in for a facial rash? Then you do not have insurance. You can not buy it. It does not exist.

The evil of this system--what other word is there?--is astonishing.

I have a good friend whose policy was rescinded for a trivial and harmless error in her application. But she just had a skin growth biopsied, and...well, if you're an insurance company, you can't be too careful, no? You don't make money by paying out claims, after all.

I caution everyone I know in the strongest terms possible against having to purchase private health "insurance." It is a phantom, and you will never know it's not really there for you until you need it. You have to find some way to get benefits through an employer, union, or other group that can not reject or rescind your coverage. Even at the cost of doing a job you don't like and woudn't otherwise take. Your life could depend on it.

What happened to democracy?

As a side note, I have never seen any studies showing how health insurance impedes worker mobility. I would guess it would affect it quite significantly but I have never seen any numbers.

I don't watch much news at all, but this is still the only source where I've seen this story reported. Contrast that with the large baby who was denied insurance coverage, a story I saw multiple times.

But this is the natural result of an unregulated free market, and that's a GOOD thing!

Seriously, why don't you mention the name of the vile nosurance company that dumped her? They deserve the publicity.

And: has nobody mentioned that this woman is a HERO? No meek presumption of victim's shame for her, she is making noise! I'm in awe.

This is so frustratingly sad.

I dread the day that I will actually need to use our health insurance. When I was having my daughter I begged the Doctor not to give me a transfusion because my HMO (with a $730 a month premium) did not cover blood or blood related services beyond simple testing.

This is astonishing.

However, what's also unfortunate is that she conflates sexual assault with "being a woman" as her campaign suggests.  If you take it a step further (and actually check out the website), this also hints at another cultural phenomenon in which we view only women as being targets of sexual assault.  The video at her website describes "domestic violence" and conflates this with womanhood as well.  While it's important to identify issues surrounding intimate partner violence, I think it does a disservice to the overall message to suggest that only a subset of our population is vulnerable to violence.

The message should be: "Violence is not a pre-existing condition."  Or, since the website also mentions pregnancy and Cesarean section, "There should be no 'pre-existing conditions.'"