I was assaulted & health insurance wont pay for my surgery...help!

[jonnis]

New York:

I was assaulted by a thug latino while trying to get a taxi cab in Manhattan at the end of July '06. He broke my nose. I filed a police report and was rushed to a local ER where a nasal reduction was performed.

Several months later as I followed-up with my ENT, I find that I need corrective surgery as my nasal passages are somewhat blocked inhibiting my breathing. My ENT sent me to get a CT of my sinuses and revealed this info accordingly.

It turns out that my health insurance with United Healthcare WILL NOT COVER this surgical procedure because it was a result of a crime. The doctor's office told me that it may be covered under criminal insurance, but I don't think that I have any. Is there a government insurance company for crime-related activities that I can apply to? What should I do so that I can find coverage and not get stuck with a sub-par performing surgeon??? Help, I literally can't breathe!What is the name of your state?

[David Jonathan]

the race of the perpetrator of this crime has no bearing on your question ... please edit your post accordingly.

--Dave.

[averad]

If the OPs post said punk white guy would you ask for the post to be edited?

[ecmst12]

It's common for health insurance to exclude coverage for injuries associated with the COMMISSION of a crime (that is, if you were the perpetrator) but I've never heard of them excluding coverage for the VICTIM. You should call your insurance company and ask them about it yourself and find out EXACTLY why they will not cover it. If there is some sort of crime victim's fund available in your state, they may want you to go through that first, but that's the only possibility I can think of.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

It's common for health insurance to exclude coverage for injuries associated with the COMMISSION of a crime (that is, if you were the perpetrator) but I've never heard of them excluding coverage for the VICTIM. You should call your insurance company and ask them about it yourself and find out EXACTLY why they will not cover it. If there is some sort of crime victim's fund available in your state, they may want you to go through that first, but that's the only possibility I can think of.

Personally, I would have waited for the edit to respond.

[ecmst12]

I already saw the slur, editing it won't change that. I'm going to give OP the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's angry because he got beat up and probably still traumatized about it and that's where the remark came from, and not just because he's a racist. But I'm more understanding then most.

[xylene]

Identifying the race of his assailant is not an ethnic / racist slur. Irrelevant but not a slur.

I guess local news PC 'habit' of omitting the race from discriptions of criminals at large or otherwise has gotten to more people than I thought.

Sorry but in the identification of a criminal skin and ethnic type color does matter.

PC police are on there way...

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by averad

If the OPs post said punk white guy would you ask for the post to be edited?

What does the gender of the assailant have to do with anything?

I don't take "latino thug" as a slur, but I do understand that others may. All OP was saying is that the person who attacked him was latino. If the assailant was Korean and OP had said "Korean thug", it's the same thing. Or, "white thug" or "black thug" or "reptilian thug". Don't get stuck on the words

Of course, if OP WAS saying it in a derogatory manner, then things would be different...

[ecmst12]

It sounded kind of derogatory. But again, I chose to attribute that to anger at his situation rather than racism. It WAS absolutely irrelevant to the post and didn't need to be there. I just decided to let it go