2-Year-Old Girl Denied Insurance Coverage for Being Underweight

The problem started when Aislin’s father Rob had to switch insurance companies due to becoming self-employed. The company he was insured under through his previous employer had no problem with Aislin’s size. However, once he was forced to switch to UnitedHealthcare, he was disheartened to learn that the company soon after rejected her because her height and weight didn’t meet its standards.

Just like that, Aislin, like millions of others around the country, became a statistic – another person without health insurance coverage.

While UnitedHealthcare insisted that its standards were well within the industry standards and that it appropriately followed the guidelines issued by several medical sources, including the Centers for Disease Control, it wasn’t until the family appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” on October 22, 2009 that the company decided that it would insure her. The insurer issued a statement that it had reviewed Aislin’s medical records and decided to offer her coverage.

Maybe it’s a coincidence that they chose to cover her after her case received national attention. But then again, the Bates were in the process of an appeal that even included support from her therapist (she has mild active gag reflux) and pediatrician. It’s possible that they just happened to reach her file on the day the family appeared on the show.

No matter the reason for the insurer’s change of heart, it’s good news for the family. However, incidences like this and that of the 17-pound baby, four-month-old Alex Lange (whose insurer also had a change of heart), remind us that the finalized health care reform most definitely needs to include something that prohibits insurers from declining people for unfair “pre-existing” conditions.

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