Kathleen Sebelius, the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, has asked insurance provider Wellpoint to stop canceling coverage of patients who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
In a letter to Wellpoint's CEO, Sebelius expressed her disappointment in the company's actions targeting women recently diagnosed with breast cancer for investigation in order to drop them from their insurance coverage. She also reminded the company that under the Affordable Care Act, that practice will soon be illegal.
Wellpoint acknowledges using software that analyzes patient diagnoses in order to target patients for cancellation but denies singling out breast cancer patients.