Victory for Ian Pearl

I wanted to follow-up on a story that I referenced in a previous post about Ian Pearl, as belated as this may be. Ian, who has muscular dystrophy, was set to have his life sustaining coverage ended this Tuesday, December 1, 2009, if it weren't for those who rallied behind him to fight his insurance company, Guardian.

On October 14, The Washington Times broke the story about Guardian's plan to deny coverage to Pearl. In his defence, Ian posted a blog on the Huffington Post entitled "I Am Not a Dog" on October19. Three days later, Guardian issued a press release acknowledging that it would be a mistake to deny Pearl and others coverage. Ian's mother, Susan, wrote a letter to the editor of The Washington Times, thanking journalist William Ehart for writing the story about her son.

The national attention garnered by the article has led to the drafting of a bill by the New York State legislature which may become known as "Ian's Law." Such a law would ensure that members who have high insurance claims cannot be denied coverage.