James Radnor

Shortly after they were diagnosed with breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. There was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles. And there was Patricia Reilling, a successful art gallery owner and interior designer from Louisville, Kentucky.

Reuters reporer Murray Waas wrote: Patricia Relling looks over the letter from Anthem Insurance as she works through her issues at her home in Louisville, Kentucky, April 21, 2010. One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled.Neither knew about the other. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders -- more than any other health insurance company in the United States, according to the Murray Waas article.

Murray Waas furher wrote: The women paid their premiums on time. Before they fell ill, neither had any problems with their insurance. Initially, they believed their policies had been canceled by mistake.

They had no idea that WellPoint was using a computer algorithm that automatically targeted every other policyholder recently diagnosed with breast cancer.