InterGlobal insurance, based in London, defines any "chronic" condition, for which their policies have lower limits, as follows.
“Chronic means a medical condition which has at least one of the following characteristics: has no known cure; is likely to recur; requires palliative treatment; needs prolonged monitoring/ treatment; is permanent; requires specialist training/rehabilitation; is caused by changes to the body that cannot be reversed.”
As Nic Kristof astutely argues, is any illness covered under this umbrella? By this rigorous definition, aging could be established as a "chronic" condition; it certainly has no reverse, and payment for treatment of conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and cancer (as discussed in the article) could be capped far before a patient needs.
Don't let anyone tell you that the current health insurance system needs no reform (and, yes, I went double-negative there). It's a joke, and hopefully today's vote is the first small step towards more comprehensive reform.
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