[Jules]

I thank God every day that my husband had his bone marrow transplant before I lost my job. And he had complications, came very close to dying and is now back in the hospital. I have United Health Care for which I am paying almost double the amount I was paying last year. No, I have not lost my job but being that I am in the airline industry nothing is safe. If I were to lose my job, Cobra payments are outrageous.

How many of you have ever had a treatment denied because the insurance company said it wasn't covered? My husband did. Isn't that rationing? The insurance company telling the doctor what is medically necessary. We got a bill for one of his hospitalizations one time stating that we owed the whole amount until the doctors proof the medical necessity. Gee, just that he would have bled to death without the blood transfusions.

We are grateful that UHC decided to cover the transplant and that I still have my job and that insurance. Oh, we could have gone with Aetna or Blue Shield which would have been less out of my pocket but what stopped us was the fear that they would not cover a preexisting condition. That is definitely one thing that should never happen.