Unbelievable. I nearly fell off my chair when I read this.

Where the fuck was congress when I - an American who can't afford to travel - had to cancel my life insurance because the greedy bastards increased my premiums three-fold when I turned 35???

I'm not even sick - my health is perfect.

I guess they don't give a fuck since I never did - nor ever want to - step foot in israel.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in late September that prohibits companies from denying life insurance coverage or INCREASING PREMIUMS based solely upon past or future travel to Israel.

Of course, you know what happens when the government tells corporations that they can't charge certain people for the costs of doing business - corporations pass that cost on to everyone else!

So, now all of us must pay for risks incurred by those travelling to israel!!!

The bill, which moved through the House with a 312-110 vote, was co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

Wasserman Schultz had been denied life insurance coverage when she listed Israel as a possible destination in future travel plans. In supporting the House bill, the Florida representative noted that the intentional death rate in Israel is 11 per 100,000, compared to the U.S. rate of 17 per 100,000. She called the latest legislation a “huge step forward for fair travel.”

So, let me get this straight - you're more likely to be murdered if you live in the US than if you live in israel, yet the US continues to cough up millions of our tax dollars every year to israel, so that they can increase their security???

Fuck israel and Fuck congress.

Robert Trestan, Eastern states civil rights council for the Anti-Defamation League, helped to draft a similar bill that was passed in Massachusetts in Aug. 2006. Trestan has also testified in several other states that have passed similar legislation, including Connecticut and Florida.

“Across the country, we have received complaints and calls from people who have been denied life insurance or charged excess premiums because they had traveled to Israel in the past or intended to travel to Israel in the future,” said Trestan. “Our concern was that insurance companies were taking this action without demonstrating increased risk.”

My insurance carrier does that to me ALL THE TIME - but, the majority of congress hasn't intervened on my behalf!

The perceived risks for insurance companies are based on a variety of factors, not the least of which is the U.S. State Department’s travel watch list. Other countries currently on the State Department’s list include Indonesia, Nepal, and Kenya.

Trestan said the State Department’s list can change from one day to the next and does not always paint an accurate picture of overall security.
“One of the concerns raised is that an entire country can be placed on the list even though an area of conflict might be confined to just one area within that country,” he said, adding that there is a stark difference in security between Israel’s West Bank and other regions inside the Jewish state.

The issue has been a contentious one in both the House and Senate, according to Whit Cornman, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). The ACLI is an advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of life insurance companies on Capitol Hill.

“We are concerned about any legislation that would affect life insurance companies’ ability to underwrite [policies],” Cornman told the Advocate. He said the latest bill seems to satisfy its proponents as well as insurers.

“The bill preserves our companies’ ability to take into account certain risk factors, while prohibiting companies from considering past travel or denying or limiting coverage based on future travel,” he added.
Also included in the bill’s provisions is a prohibition against charging excessive premiums that are not based on “good faith” analyses of involved risks.

The bill does allow for denied or limited coverage for individuals who travel to countries where the Centers for Disease Control has indicated a high level of alert, where there is an ongoing military conflict, or where insurance fraud is rampant.

But tourists and business travelers are not the only ones who would benefit from the House bill. Trestan said many individuals traveling to countries outside of Israel to provide humanitarian aid – physicians, for example – have also had trouble obtaining coverage.

How is this bill going to help travelling physicians???

They just finished saying that "the bill does allow for denied or limited coverage for individuals who travel to countries where the Centers for Disease Control has indicated a high level of alert, where there is an ongoing military conflict" - premusably precisely where physicians "administering humanitarian aid" would travel.

He is hopeful that the legislation will soon find its way into the law books.

Trestan added: “We are very optimistic that the Senate will reach the same conclusion that the House did, that they will take up the bill, and that they will pass it.”

Well, fuck you, congress.

And fuck your little israel.

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