Health Insurance is for the Healthy and Risk Free Only

This weeks rant is about the hideous state of health care- for the working and specifically for the self-employed. Let's explore a common example- HPV and health care (or health care-less as it really should be called).

Lisa Speaks:
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus found in sexually active women. You may have recently heard about this as a result of the vaccine that has come on the market to protect young women from the virus (well, a number of strains of the virus). There are two types of the virus. One causes genital warts and the other is linked to a high risk of cervical cancer.

The CDC reports "approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year."

So, given that so many people are and will be infected with HPV, how or why is it ethical and legal for health insurers to deny health insurance to people who have HPV (or other pre-existing conditions, however I'm focusing on this for now)? Many consumers are willing to pay for quality health care- yet the Doctors say the money isn't good enough for them to accept insurance and the insurers say the profits are too low to insure certain people (20 million with HPV). What?

HPV doesn't mean you'll get cancer or warts. Many infected don't know and continue to expose others. Yet, if it landed on your medical chart at some point, OR you were an honest consumer who disclosed it on your health care application- YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Oh, they'll give you insurance, just a couple bucks toward a routine exam and a little more if you are reckless and in a car accident. But, honesty in your record and a desire to maintain good health- pay in cash and hope you don't get cancer one day. Or, stopy being self employed and go back to a big box company where you are likely to get better coverage. Thanks.

Your Coach Speaks:
1. Pay close attention to your health insurance coverage (what is included and what isn't)
2. Encourage your employer to always look for better coverage based on the needs of the employees
3. Look for wellness benefits outside of your health care coverage to keep yourself in great shape (even if you have to pay for some of it- you are, after all, worth it)
4. Speak with private health insurers/brokers if you have conditions that are hard to find coverage for (shop around until you've exhausted the options)
5. Get involved and outraged! Speak with your legislature and let them know this is unacceptable, unethical and immoral to the hard-working citizens of the state and country
6. Talk with parents of young girls/women (14-20's) to educate them about the HPV vaccine
7. Take sex seriously- always do it safely so that HPV doesn't have to be a part of your vocabulary

Ladies Stay Away from Mr. Thomas

Lisa Speaking:
Whether its Clarence or Isaiah, sexual harassment in the workplace is a very real and very serious experience as well as an egregious accusation. Since joining the ranks of the working force, women have experienced sexual harassment. We also have cases of women filing erroneous cases of harassment for various motives. Someone could perceive harassment that isn’t there. And yet still others will continue to work in sexually harassing workplaces for many other reasons. I am also quite certain that the number of men being sexually harassed in the workplace will rise, as more women enter leadership positions and chose to behave inappropriately with or toward their male subordinates.

Sadly, I have to say that some of these experiences rise from the inability of women (collectively) to recognize how their own behaviors with male colleagues permits an environment which teeters on the border between “overly-friendly, girly, flirty…” to sexually inappropriate. These interactions make it difficult for other women to be respected in the workplace. Those women are often referred to as “prudes” if they don’t giggle, welcome glances at their legs or backsides and encourage language that, again, goes to the border of inappropriate. I do recognize that the balance is difficult. We shouldn’t have to be asexual when in the workplace but at the same time we are all responsible for our behaviors in the workplace. And, those behaviors contribute to the workplace environment that others are subjected to. Although the balance is hard, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.

Your Coach Speaking:
Evaluate the climate in your own office. Are you on the border? How so?
How could what you say or how you behave be perceived as sexual harassment? (Really think about this before you say “it can’t”)
Are you being harassed in the office? If you think so, talk to two separate people about it (outside the office). What do they say? Seek help if you need it. It may require you setting more limits or having a casual conversation with the person involved. It doesn’t have to rise to the level of legal action in many cases.
Are you the sex kitten I refer to above, who men in the office love? Could you be supporting an environment that offends and harasses others? You may not care- until you are called into the courtroom – or loose your job.

Act responsibly and professionally at all times. We are all counting on you.