Stupid cold making me miss the rally and consigning me to a state of NyQuil-induced torpor for the weekend.
You've got a really good point. The bill is approaching a different aspect of the problem - the fact that as laws stand now, an insurance company can decline or reduce benefits for a mutant, or someone who refuses to answer the question on their benefits forms.
The actual ability of hospitals, now, is another factor. Some hospitals will turn away mutant patients - I've experienced that firsthand. Sometimes it's due to prejudice from a hospital's administration, but just as often it's due to a perceived inability to treat a mutant patients. While specialized studies have been made into mutation as applied to medicine, those findings have not been adopted as protocol by most private or state-run hospitals. But lack of local facility shouldn't mean lack of insurance. Not every hospital can be equipped to treat certain mutant-related health issues. Not every hospital can do heart transplant surgery either, but insurance companies still pay for that.
Given that there is currently no evidence that mutation presents an inherent health risk (other than in some cases, that of lifestyle), in this case I do feel that this bill is a step forward for civil rights.
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Date: 2007-01-15 11:08 pm (UTC)You've got a really good point. The bill is approaching a different aspect of the problem - the fact that as laws stand now, an insurance company can decline or reduce benefits for a mutant, or someone who refuses to answer the question on their benefits forms.
The actual ability of hospitals, now, is another factor. Some hospitals will turn away mutant patients - I've experienced that firsthand. Sometimes it's due to prejudice from a hospital's administration, but just as often it's due to a perceived inability to treat a mutant patients. While specialized studies have been made into mutation as applied to medicine, those findings have not been adopted as protocol by most private or state-run hospitals. But lack of local facility shouldn't mean lack of insurance. Not every hospital can be equipped to treat certain mutant-related health issues. Not every hospital can do heart transplant surgery either, but insurance companies still pay for that.
Given that there is currently no evidence that mutation presents an inherent health risk (other than in some cases, that of lifestyle), in this case I do feel that this bill is a step forward for civil rights.