One of the more interesting stories circulating regarding medical insurance has been the case of Alex Lange. Alex Lange is an infant, born to Kelli Lang of Denver. Alex was 8 ¼ pounds at birth, and has been on a diet of strictly breast milk since he was born. However, Alex is today in the 99^th percentile for both height and weight for an infant of his age He weighs in at right around 17 pounds.

According to Lange’s health insurance provider, that qualifies four month old Alex as having a pre-existing condition: obesity. The Lange family was told by Rocky Mountain Health Plans that their baby was “too fat” to be insured. According to The Denver Post, the Lange family’s current insurer raised their premiums after Alex was born.

What many people may find particularly interesting is the process the insurance company uses to make their determinations. My Fox LA quotes Dr. Doug Speedie, the medical director for Rocky Mountain Health Plans on the situation:  “If health care reform occurs, underwriting will go away,” he said, referring to the process that insurers go through when they decide whether to accept or deny someone for coverage.”

Many insurance companies won’t accept babies for their coverage if the baby is at the 95^th percentile or higher for height and weight. The same holds true for obese adults. Many insurance companies won’t insure adults that have a body mass index of 30 or higher.

The case of Alex Lange received national media attention. In part due to this media spotlight, it was recently announced that Rocky Mountain will be changing their policy regarding insuring infants. Their new policy is to provide coverage for an infant if they are healthy, regardless of how much they weigh. Obesity will no longer be looked at as a pre-existing condition for healthy infants.

The story, of course, has sparked all sorts of debate. As legislators work on health care reform legislation, the question of underwriting insurance policies – the process by which a health insurance company decides whether or not to insure an individual – is being talked about more and more.

Some states provide options to people whose health may prevent them from being able to be covered by a regular medical insurance policy. Take, for example, the Montana Comprehensive Health Association. This is an insurance pool for high-risk clients, which is required to accept customers who have specific illnesses or that have been refused insurance by private insurers. These plans typically have higher deductibles than many private insurance plans, but the premiums are likely to be similar and coverage is comparable, as well.

Currently, 33 states have high risk medical insurance pools. In some states, there is a long waiting list of people wanting to get into the high risk pools, as well.