By any plausible measure, Scott Dolezal is a healthy man.
The Oak Park resident stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 210 pounds.
He runs regularly, doesn't smoke, and has no history of heart trouble, elevated cholesterol, hay fever, psoriasis, musculoskeletal conditions or any of the dozens of other ailments about which health insurance companies inquire.
In fact, on his application for an individual policy with Costco's health insurance plan, the 36-year-old marked "yes" on just two questions about his health history.
Sometime during the past 12 months, he was given eyedrops for conjunctivitis.
And he is in the process of adopting a child.
The insurance company underwriting the policy, Aetna, apparently had no problem with the pinkeye, but the pending adoption proved a deal-breaker.
On Aug. 31, Aetna sent him a letter saying it had declined his application. The reason stated: "pregnancy or adoption."
Dolezal was floored.
Although he remembers answering "yes" when asked if he was in the process of adopting a child, he never imagined it would have any effect on his ability to obtain insurance.
"I really thought it was a weird question more than anything," he said. "I never thought that would be the basis for denial."
Dolezal said he applied for Costco's Aetna plan after reading about it in a magazine. It seemed like a perfect fit.
The small law firm where he works does not provide group coverage, and although his wife has health insurance, adding him to her plan would be expensive.
Dolezal has a previously adopted 4-year-old daughter who is covered by his wife's plan, but expanding her coverage from "employee plus one" to a family plan would cost the couple an extra $1,000 a month, he said.
"That's a lot for just me to have the coverage," he said. "But I don't feel comfortable not having coverage either."
He applied for the Costco plan because the monthly premiums were considerably less than $1,000 a month, he said.
Shortly after his application was denied, Dolezal emailed What's Your Problem?
"I cannot believe that the decision to adopt a child would be a reason for denying health care coverage," he said. "As part of the adoption process, I had to undergo a physical in which the doctor confirmed that I was healthy and capable of raising a child."
Dolezal said he couldn't understand the reasoning behind the denial.
"When healthy people can't get coverage, there's something wrong," he said.
