'Too-Fat' Baby Denied Health Care
Family Plans To Appeal Insurance Company's Decision
A Colorado couple said their 4-month-old son was denied health insurance because he is overweight.Alex Lange, who measures 25 inches long and weighs 17 pounds, was denied coverage after underwriters ruled him a high-risk patient because of his "pre-existing condition" -- obesity.Bernie and Kelli Lange tried to get insurance for their family with Rocky Mountain Health Plans when they were told by a broker the company couldn't cover Alex because he was "too fat."Alex is in the 99th percentile for height and weight for babies his age. Insurers don't take babies above the 95th percentile, no matter how healthy they are otherwise, the Denver Post reported on its Web site.Bernie Lange said there is something absurd with denying an infant coverage."I could understand if we could control what he's eating. But he's 4 months old. He's breast-feeding. We can't put him on the Atkins Diet or on a treadmill," Bernie Lange told Grand Junction television station KKCO.The family plans to appeal Rocky Mountain's denial.
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