MovieChat Forums > Extraordinary Measures (2010) Discussion > Question about health insurance for the ...

Question about health insurance for the Crowley family

posted 14 years ago by frugillaria
12 replies | jump to latest

I thought this was a very interesting movie, topical in its occasional mention of the health insurance situation. As someone who doesn’t quite understand how the U.S. health insurance system works, I would like to ask these questions:

Wasn’t the Crowley family’s health coverage linked to John’s job at Bristol-Meyers? When he left that job, would the new biotech startup have been able to get coverage for the family at all? (The word “pre-existing” sounds tackily redundant, but is, alas, the common term: a sickness that already exists when someone enters a new insurance plan is normally excluded from coverage.) Surely this is what would have happened to the Crowley family, right? Or the premiums would have been set at an outrageously high amount. Would the family have been able to pay that?

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] krasny 14 years ago

I presume some policies are portable.

Don't Care What The Governments Say
They're All Bought And Paid For Anyway

- Sun Green

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] darrin_h2000 14 years ago

Lets just roll the dice...that isnt a wise bit of advice.

Sadly even having insurance coverage doesnt mean you have access to any treatment in the US...if the claim doesnt get past the team of people whose job it is to find a reason to deny you...you are dead meat...lucky we just passed a bill that makes this act murder.

[–] Kennyjbaran 14 years ago

darrin, talk about a load of misinformed garbage, your entire statement is proof most people have no clue about how insurance works.Everyone has access to treatment in the US, it comes down to money and how much one is willing to spend, insurance or not if you need health care you can get it in the US. This lew bill that liberals shoved down our throats is going to have long term negative impacts on the US economy in the form if inflation as companies raise prices to cover the new taxes they will have to pay since they could not afford to provide health insurance to their employees, don't kid yourself, most companies in this country are small businesses not the fortune 500 companies you all know and love to hate, and these small businesses will be forced to either purchase health insurance for their employees or pay a penalty in the form of new taxes. The healthcare situation in the US was certainly not great before this new bill was signed but the health insurance industry is not the only problem here, we needed tort reform as well as standardization of fees medical providers charged. Tort reform would have ended a lot of these huge awards for malpractice whether real or imagined and hospitals would not then run a bunch of unecessary tests for fear of a malpractice suit. Likewise attorney's would stop chasing ambulances and that next huge class action lawsuit if lose pays were enacted in this country, until that happens this new healthcare plan will bankrupt this country, afterall it is brought to you by the same government who provided medicare and the US postal service, both of which are bankrupt as we speak, but go ahead, keep believing the government will solve all your problems then some day when this country is in chaos because there is no more money you can tell us how that healthcare reform thing worked.

[–] dmolden99 14 years ago

ya 2 kids in wheelchairs would do really well in an apartment.

[–] schumithecat 13 years ago

his interest in the start-up was bought out for $18 million, and he was a VP at the aquiring company (which probably paid a good salary and stock options as bonus that could be worth many, many times more than salary). He could afford to pay for their treatment. I can't believe some people responding begrudge the guy buying a nice house.

[–] CQTiger 13 years ago

Doesn't the bank own the house

[–] dwarol 13 years ago

In the US there was a law passed in 1985 called COBRA that contained a provision for any employee leaving a company (either fired or by resignation) to continue to get health insurance through that company's plan for up to 2 years, as long as you continue to make the same health insurance payments to the company you were making as an employee and couldn't be covered by another insurance plan such as a new job or a spouse's job.

The movie didn't say anything about it, but I assume that's what they took advantage of. Of course, after the two years it would have been a real nightmare getting insurance if John didn't find another job with health benefits.

In the movie the Crowleys struck it rich within a year or so and John joined a big biotech firm which presumably would have had a comprehensive health plan. In real life this would have been a big issue. If John had joined a small company of a few hundred or less employees, his family's health costs would have spiked the cost of insurance for everyone else in the company. That fact alone would have made him very unemployable even in normal economic times.

[–] carpediem2020 13 years ago

Quitting his job and partnering with a brilliant scientist was the best career move he ever made.

He became a multi millionaire within a year.

That other job had him begging for pennies and dreading the thought of losing his insurance.

It really does remind me of the fact that many people could be wealthier and much more successful if only they put themselves in a better situation.

[–] schuhj 10 years ago

The actual person was and is a top flight executive. And of course the real biotech he set up was not established the way that was done in the movie. The character that Ford plays is a composite of his first partner and other scientists.

[–] lisa-j-robinson 13 years ago

Actually, HIPAA was passed in 1996. Most people relate this law to security and privacy, but another aspect of it is portability of your insurance. If you leave one employer with whom you had insurance, you will receive a letter stating such. This will then be passed onto the new employer. This letter proves insured status. As long as there is no lapse in coverage, the preexisting condition rule does not apply.

I ran into this when my son was younger and was on chronic meds.