[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                PREMIUMS RAPIDLY RISING ``OUT OF SIGHT''

                                 ______


                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 1994

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, for those who have insurance, it is 
relatively easy to denounce efforts at health reform. However, for the 
40 million people without health coverage, a change in the health 
system is a necessity.
  The health care system is also unjust to millions of people who will 
soon not be able to afford costly insurance premiums. These are people 
who have worked their entire lives, only to find that as they grow 
older they can no longer keep up with rapidly rising insurance costs. 
They are faced with the terrible choice of either drastically changing 
their quality of life in order to pay for health insurance, or forgoing 
coverage and hoping they don't have any accidents or illnesses.
  Following is a letter from Mr. Sterling Williams of Jackson, MS. Mr. 
Williams' health premiums have increased so much in the last few years 
that he is in great danger of losing all his insurance coverage. His 
unfortunate situation illustrates the drastic need for health reform.

       Dear Representative: As I write this letter to you, I am 
     keenly aware of your efforts and others to get a workable 
     universal health care bill through Congress and into law. I 
     feel that my circumstance with respect to obtaining health 
     insurance might be persuasive in helping the opposers and 
     undecided to get behind your plan or one of the plans being 
     considered so that people like myself will not continue to be 
     misused and abused by the present insurance establishment. I 
     am presently a small property owner who is semi-retired and 
     partially disabled with a moderate case of ``spinal 
     stenosis.'' Additionally, I have had glaucoma in my right eye 
     for over 25 years but it is managed with eye drops. My health 
     care problems began about 30 years ago when I joined an 
     insurance plan made up a religious group incorporated in the 
     State of California which went bankrupt shortly after I was 
     informed that I needed a minor eye surgical procedure to 
     relieve the pressure in my right eye. The bankruptcy left me 
     to pay the eye surgeon and hospital bill in spite of my 
     having faithfully paid my premiums for many years.
       After that incident, I purchased another health plan but 
     the policy came back with an ``exclusion for glaucoma 
     forever.'' I canceled this plan and purchased an Allstate 
     health plan which was subsequently sold to Mutual of Omaha. 
     Although Allstate's agent told me that the ``rider'' attached 
     to my policy regarding the ``glaucoma exclusion would be 
     removed if I had no problems after one year,'' I waited for 
     two years and asked that the ``rider'' be removed. I was then 
     told that the glaucoma rider was permanent. I, thereafter, 
     protested to Allstate who was at the time in the process of 
     selling their health care plan that I was in to Mutual of 
     Omaha Insurance Company. Allstate suggested that I contact 
     Mutual of Omaha's customer relations manager and explain my 
     situation to him along with a letter he suggested I get 
     from the Allstate agent who wrote my coverage stating that 
     he had used the word ``would'' rather than ``could'' when 
     I purchased the Allstate Insurance and was told that the 
     glaucoma exclusion would be removed after one year barring 
     any major complications. Additionally, my eye doctor wrote 
     a letter in my behalf saying that my glaucoma was ``well 
     managed'' and that I am proof that ``not all blacks who 
     get glaucoma will go blind.'' I was later told that there 
     is such a saying in the field because of the prevalence of 
     ``people of color,'' ``blacks'' to lose their eyesight, if 
     they get glaucoma due to poor management or care of it. 
     That was my doctor's way of expelling this myth. Mutual of 
     Ohama then removed the ``rider'' against glaucoma. 
     However, it appears that Mutual of Omaha was determined to 
     ``win the war'' by raising my premiums ``out of sight,'' 
     after ``losing the battle'' to exclude treatment for 
     glaucoma at the start.
       The following is an example of what I mean. My policy 
     anniversary is in July each year. In June of 1992, the 
     premium for my wife and me was $397.65 monthly. In July 1992, 
     our premium was raised to $671.88 monthly. In July 1993, our 
     premium was increased to $744.81 monthly. In July 1994, our 
     premiums are increased to $1,035.72 monthly. This last 
     increase makes my insurance higher than the average income 
     for the State of Mississippi. These increases, I believe, 
     were designed to force me out of this insurance.
       The increases given by me as outlined above is, in my 
     opinion, discriminatory and an abuse of power. It seems to me 
     that any health care system that can operate the above 
     mentioned fashion is in serious need of regulating. My wife 
     nor I have had any outstanding sicknesses. I jog 3\1/2\ miles 
     every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in 30 minutes. I won seven 
     amateur middlweight boxing championships before deciding to 
     pursue the Christian ministry as one of Jehovah's Witnesses 
     in 1956. This decision derailed my boxing career. I am now 61 
     years old and a grandfather trying to remain faithful to 
     Jehovah God, our Creator, as well as keep some health 
     insurance.
       I am writing to you, as well as selected members of 
     Congress and to the AARP with the hope that my experience 
     might be helpful to those entrusted with the responsibility 
     to act wisely and decisively in behalf of us, their 
     constituents, and quickly enact the President's much needed 
     health care plan or another being debated currently in 
     Congress.
           I am very truly,
     Sterling E. Williams, Sr.

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