Why I Welcome Electronic Health "Credit Reports"

Kevin Maney rants: A lot of people worry about the kinds of electronic health reports detailed in a front page Washington Post story today. But as someone who recently applied for a personal health care policy, I think this is great news.

Here's the main reason: As it stands now, if you're applying for a personal policy, health insurers put the onus on YOU, the applicant, to supply all relevant health information. It's crazy, really -- they want you to list, like, every medication you've taken over the past 10 years and everything reason you've gone to a doctor. They want YOU to get the medical records and supporting materials.

This isn't just a pain in the butt. It also allows the insurer to BLAME you for anything that you overlook. If, for instance, you fail to tell the insurer about some doctor visit for headaches in 1999 and you discover a brain tumor after getting the policy, the insurer can refuse to cover the tumor treatment.

I'm rooting for electronic health records to shift the responsibility, in the way that banks have responsibility for learning about your credit before giving you a loan. If everything is available electronically, and an insurer agrees to give you a policy, then the insurer should have no recourse to back out of coverage for anything.

That's the trade-off regulators need to force. We're giving up some control and privacy in return for handing over responsiblity to the insurers. Seems completely fair.