A recent episode of This American Life-the fine, fine public radio show-has an excellent piece on the health insurance industry’s use of “rescission.” This is when people with individual insurance policies come down with an illness (or get pregnant) and the insurance company denies coverage by claiming it was a preexisting condition.

As exhibit A, the segment focuses on Robin Beaton, a woman diagnosed with invasive breast cancer whose insurance was rescinded after Blue Cross Blue Shield misinterpreted an old acne diagnosis of Beaton’s as pre-cancerous.

You can listen to or download the segment online for free here. It is excellent.

Ira Glass looks at the fine print in health insurance [PRI]

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