raddatz by you delight him coverage, it? >> unfortunately i cannot comment on that particular case. >> mr. collins, asking the same question you insisted you also music computer ice system to identify cases to automatically investigate for possible rescissions but there is no one at your company who knew how the computer decides which files should be reviewed so, is it the case united has put the decision of which patient will have the health care treatment interrupted by recession investigation in the hand of the computer that no one understands? >> no, sir, that is not true. i haven't been produced to the discussions between my staff and your staff on this issue. we have been trying to come to an understanding about how to best provide the data in a format that is easily understandable but let me just say -- >> can you say what conditions the computer considers for a possible investigation? >> no single factor is used to trigger an investigation so we look at the system looks as its screening claims that come in at the eff

peggy raddatz who is the sister welcome all of you thank you for coming. under oath. please be advised you have the right under the rules of the house to be advised by counsel during your testimony. do you wish to be represented during your testimony? you are all shaking your head snow coal debate okay. i ask you to rise and raise your right hand to take the oath. ms. beaton, if you want to sit there that's okay. do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the matter pending before this committee? let the record reflect the witness is replied in the affirmative. they are now under oath and we will hear a five minute opening statement from each of you. ms. beaton, would you like to start first -- he would like to be last? ms. horton, would you like to be first? will you pull the microphone first and there should be a button, pull the microphone for word. it doesn't pick up as well as it should. >> can you hear me now? >> i can hear you. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen i want t

raddatz. then in the second letter, the company finally reversed its decision so how did your brother note the assistance of the attorney general, is that through you? >> it is absolutely threw myself and like i said i even i had difficulty finding the of lead. it took me awhile to get to the attorneys general's office but we are fortunate in the state of illinois to have a health bureau and the attorney general's office. we are lucky to have an aggressive unit and they are available for the citizens of the state of illinois who go through the same situation my brother did but again, most people, you know, do not have the knowledge that all i have, and by the way it took to appeals. the first time she wrote the letter they said no. so it took a further letter to them before they did reverse their decision. >> thank you. mr. barton for questions. >> mr. chairman, may i ask a question? >> no, it's mr. barton's unless he yields his time. >> this is purely, i noticed with so many lawyers around me

that's what raddatz had to do a duty like him twice. >> we have a very detailed appeals process.in fact, after the three levels review and the entire committee voting for recision we notify the customer, we give them 15 days, we delayed the recision giving them an opportunity to respond with additional information and when it does come in we have a different underwriter look at the appeal and they may appeal as many times as they would like. >> raddatz only had two or three weeks to get his stem cell. >> we go through the process as fast as possible. >> i apologize i didn't see you there, you changed the color of your suit. i will go to your four questions. >> california was -- michigan was still in the indian territory. we don't need to be overlooked. [laughter] we didn't win that argument though. normally, we are confronted with the question do we need new federal legislation? and the gentleman from the insurance industry have all human formally told us that if we will pass a federal mandate having everybody mandatory elite in the insurance pool that all of these problems will

miss peggy raddatz from illinois. and miss wittney horton from los angeles, california. welcome all of you. thank you for coming. it's the policy of the subcommittee to take all testimony under oath. please be advised that you have a right under the rules of the house to be advised by counsel during your testimony. do you wish to be represent the by counsel during your testimony? you're all shaking your heads no? so -- okay. i'm going to ask you to please rise and raise your right hand to take the oath. miss beaton, if you want to sit there, that's okay. do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the matter pending before this committee? let the record reflect the witnesses replied in the affirmative. they are now under oath. we will hear a five-minute opening statement from each of you. miss beaton, would you like to start first with an opening? you'd like to be last? miss horton, would you mind being first? would you pull that mike forward and turn on the green button there. it doesn't pick

raddatz what about your brother situation? was there a refund of premium back to the date of the recession? >> yes, they didn't actually get to that point because it got resolved before they refunded the money but they sent a letter stating yes, you are rescinded to the date of the original contract, which was before my brother had any cancer treatments at all and $200,000 back, so my brother would have had to pay out of pocket over $200,000 in medical expenses. >> but they never got to the point where they sought that refund from your brother? >> well, again the to wonder thousand dollars was the amount that his medical bills-- >> so those for subsequent bills? >> right, that would have been what he had to pay out because they were rescinding their contract, and so they were then stating, we are rescinding all the way back to the original date of the contract so you have never had any insurance at all for the entire time you of head concert. you now have no insurance. >> so that retroactive for announcement also dealt with th

i want to extend a special welcome to miss peggy raddatz from my home state, from la grange. i thank you for being here and sharing your family's story with us. i know it isn't always easy to discuss personal matters. but you certainly are helping us to make better health care policies. and i thank the witnesses for helping us. when a consumer goes to buy a health insurance policy they try to identify the best policy to heat meet the health care needs of their family. at no time do they imagine that once they buy a policy, they might get sick and their insurance will simply rescind their policy and leave them without coverage, but with a high pile of bills. the practice of post-claims underwriting in the private market is wrong and we should prohibit it. let's face it uks it's already hard enough for an individual or small business owner to find health insurance. in my state of illinois, there is no requirement that insurers take all-comers. i've heard from constituents over and over again who are unable to find a policy really at any price. those who do get through the insur

raddatz where the threat or actual termination of insurance policies cause pain, frustration and great expense. we may be here to discuss valid uses for procedural aspects of recisions, medical underwriting, and other corporate practices. there are some actions we should no longer allow insurance companies to do. playing gotcha with policyholders who have serious illnesses and huge expenses must stop. insurance companies cannot wait until customers are sick or filing claims to verify their medical history and decide whether or not they want them as a customer. this is what they're supposed to be doing when they sign the member up. if the company does not conduct a review of unclear or incomplete information on the application, then the plan should not use subsequently acquired information as a basis for rescinding coverage. this practice is known as post-claims underwriting. the company should conduct its due diligence at the time the application is filled out and submitted prior to issuing coverage. recisions should not be a license to find loopholes by investigating someone's medical