Screw ObamaCare, I Want My Dog's Insurance

When doctors found a bulge on Nelson's abdomen, they gave him an ultrasound and a CT scan, gave him a blood transfusion, and surgically removed the tumor, and insurance covered 90% of it, less a $500 deductible. And, as you've guessed by reading the headline, Nelson is a dog. "I'm jealous of him," his owner, Eric Wee, writes in the New York Times. "He has the kind of health care that I'd hoped the Affordable Care Act would usher in."

Instead, when Wee and his wife were kicked off their $263-per-month plan, the cheapest they could find on California's exchange cost $620 a month, barely covered Wee's asthma meds, and left him waiting weeks to see a doctor. ObamaCare may help many people, but Wee looked at Nelson's care and "wanted to go to PetCare. I wanted pet insurance." Of course, there's probably a reason for the disparity. This Forbes piece on an insurer called Petplan reveals fundamentals that "would make human insurers drool." Only about a third of policyholders ever file claims, and only 60% of company revenues actually go to medical expenses, compared to the 80% to 85% the ACA mandates for human plans. Click for Wee's full column. (More Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act stories.)