DENVER -
One fat, four-month old baby can't even talk yet -- although eating's not a problem -- but has already forced a Colorado insurance company to change a policy that affects thousands of families on the state's Western Slope.
Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a non-profit insurance provider based in Grand Junction, said Monday that it will no longer consider obesity a "pre-existing condition" barring coverage for hefty infants.
The change comes after the insurer turned down Alex Lange, a Grand Junction four-month-old who weighs about 17 pounds.
"He's a big baby, there's no question about that, but he's very healthy," said Alex's father, Bernie Lange. "He's happy, and he's adorable, and apparently, he's uninsurable, because he's in the 99th percentile in weight."
The infant's father works at NBC affiliate KKCO-TV in Grand Junction and news accounts about the boy's rejection made national headlines.
"A four-month old baby was denied health coverage because of statistics the insurance companies use," Bernie Lange said. "That is outrageous."
Stephen Erkenbrack, Rocky Mountain's president, agrees and says the case caused the company to change its policy and should be viewed as evidence of the need for national health care reform.
"Clearly, when you're talking about individual coverage that's being issued on the basis of your health status, obesity is a factor," he said. "Now when you look at an infant of two or three or four months that's still being breast-fed, applying those broad standards to that specific circumstance just doesn't make any sense."
The insurer said Monday it would change its policy for babies that are healthy but fat. The company attributed the boy's rejection for health coverage to "a flaw in our underwriting system."
"It's clearly the case that you should consider obesity issues at a certain point, and we need to figure out at what age that point is," Erkenbrack said. "But no matter where you draw the line, a two-month-old baby is underneath that point."
Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a non-profit insurance provider based in Grand Junction, said Monday that it will no longer consider obesity a "pre-existing condition" barring coverage for hefty infants.
The change comes after the insurer turned down Alex Lange, a Grand Junction four-month-old who weighs about 17 pounds.
"He's a big baby, there's no question about that, but he's very healthy," said Alex's father, Bernie Lange. "He's happy, and he's adorable, and apparently, he's uninsurable, because he's in the 99th percentile in weight."
The infant's father works at NBC affiliate KKCO-TV in Grand Junction and news accounts about the boy's rejection made national headlines.
"A four-month old baby was denied health coverage because of statistics the insurance companies use," Bernie Lange said. "That is outrageous."
Stephen Erkenbrack, Rocky Mountain's president, agrees and says the case caused the company to change its policy and should be viewed as evidence of the need for national health care reform.
"Clearly, when you're talking about individual coverage that's being issued on the basis of your health status, obesity is a factor," he said. "Now when you look at an infant of two or three or four months that's still being breast-fed, applying those broad standards to that specific circumstance just doesn't make any sense."
The insurer said Monday it would change its policy for babies that are healthy but fat. The company attributed the boy's rejection for health coverage to "a flaw in our underwriting system."
"It's clearly the case that you should consider obesity issues at a certain point, and we need to figure out at what age that point is," Erkenbrack said. "But no matter where you draw the line, a two-month-old baby is underneath that point."
