Steve Kraus

The rollout of ObamaCare has been far from flawless, but it it the first step towards health care for all--- which is the central issue for both my personal life and career. My work in academia and advocacy hopefully takes us closer to that goal.

A Reuters article claiming that WellPoint subsidiaries used a computer algorithm to cancel the insurance policies of breast cancer patients sparked a sharp rebuke from the Secretary of Health and Human Services last Friday, and left the insurance giant aggressively defending its public image.

The original report alleged that WellPoint software targeted breast cancer patients for fraud investigations in order to find a pretext for dropping their policies.

Based on the Reuters revelations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly released a statement highlighting the rescissions as "exactly the kind of health insurance company abuse our new healthcare law prohibits," and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote a letter to WellPoint CEO Angela Braly saying she was "surprised and disappointed" to learn of the practice.