Would Superman, qualify for health insurance?

[Jayson]

Think about it! On one hand he is everything a insurance company would like to have in a patient. He can't get sick or get cancer or even get injured in a car accident or die by being shot. He is basically invincable. Him getting something that they would have to pay for, seems almost nill.

On the otherhand he is constantly putting himself in situations that would be very dangerous for humans. Plus he has faced off with villians that have been able to get the upperhand on him, from time to time. He even got killed,once. Granted things always worked out for him in the end, but I could see a insurance company thinking that he might not be so lucky one of these days.

I also kind of wondered, who payed for his visit to the hospital in the newest "Superman" movie. Do you think Superman would pay his bill. I asume Superman is familiar with the chicken vs egg situation with health care that drives up cost. People don't pay their hospital bills, because there to expernsive but there expensive because people don't pay them. Would Superman be willing to contribute to the problem or would he see paying the bill as to helping keep the status quo going, which then prevents real health care reform. That or maybe he would just be pissed. Imagine Superman getting his bill. "$500" for a broken needle! Fuck them!"

Jason

 

[Christopher]

Clark Kent is undoubtedly covered under the Daily Planet's insurance plan, but of course he can't collect and Superman can't take advantage of that.

But come on, it's Superman. Can you imagine the terrible publicity any hospital would get if they refused to treat the Man of Steel? They'd eat the expense of the treatment before they'd risk that kind of bad press. Heck, they'd probably be happy to donate the whole thing, because, come on, it's Superman. And I expect the city government would volunteer to cover the costs. If they didn't, the federal government probably would. And if they didn't, there'd be countless ordinary folks lining up to donate to the cause.

And of course, once Superman got better, he could just crush a lump of coal into a diamond or dig up a vein of gold or something.

As for the thinking of an insurance company, I don't think they'd want to cover him. First off, he has no known address or fixed source of income. The paperwork would be a nightmare. And while it's true that under normal circumstances he'd never need to collect, if something did happen to make him sick, it would be beyond the grasp of normal medicine and it would probably require extensive research to find a cure. An insurance company would go broke paying for it. And like I said, the government would probably pick up the tab.


This does get me wondering about how the superhero community in general would deal with medical care issues. Maybe the Justice League or the Avengers could manage a program that was designed to take care of any medical needs incurred by superheroes in the line of duty.

 

[sidious618]

I think the health insurance for Bruce Wayne would be more interesting. Dude's rates must be sky high.

 

[Leroy]

Bruce Wayne and Superman would be posterboys for how great the insurance system is one is so wealthy he can pay out of pocket, the other is indestructible and can't get sick although I'm sure vulnerabilities to Kryptonite would be considered a preexisting condition.

 

[TemporalFlux]

I think the bigger question for Superman is malpractice insurance. Given that Supes is on the up and up and out in broad daylight, would the system really allow him to do whatever he wanted and give him complete legal immunity? With Batman, it's different; they would have to actually find and detain Batman before they could make him pay anything, and that's not likely to happen.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

How about the Martian Manhunter?

 

[Brent]

How about the Martian Manhunter?

Illegal alien

 

[USS Triumphant]

First off, he has no known address or fixed source of income. <snip> And like I said, the government would probably pick up the tab.

Most versions of Superman have been federal marshalls granted authority by executive order. So at least for those versions, the government would definitely pick up the tab.

I think the health insurance for Bruce Wayne would be more interesting. Dude's rates must be sky high.

Only if the insurance company thought to ask whether or not he's a superhero in his spare time. I don't recall seeing that on any of the forms.

I think the bigger question for Superman is malpractice insurance.

Maybe DC has an analog of this?

But again, the versions of Supes that are federal agents would be covered by their employer(s).

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

How about the Martian Manhunter?

Illegal alien

What of his other personas?

 

[sidious618]

I think the health insurance for Bruce Wayne would be more interesting. Dude's rates must be sky high.

Only if the insurance company thought to ask whether or not he's a superhero in his spare time. I don't recall seeing that on any of the forms.

Even not knowing that he still seems to always have been in accidents.

 

[Greg Cox]

But is a kryptonite allergy considered a pre-existing condition?

 

[Brent]

But is a kryptonite allergy considered a pre-existing condition?

I wouldn't think so, that would be akin to saying nuclear radiation is harmful to humans, so we can't give you health insurance because you aren't invulnerable to it.

 

[TGTheodore]

But Superman isn't human. Policies don't cover dogs or cats, why would they cover a Kryptonian?

--Ted

 

[Christopher]

I think the bigger question for Superman is malpractice insurance.

There have been stories here and there about Superman being sued. Or having other legal problems. I remember a Lois and Clark episode where Superman actually got arrested and arraigned for some kind of felony, and the prosecutor argued that bail should be denied because Superman posed "an obvious flight risk."

I think the health insurance for Bruce Wayne would be more interesting. Dude's rates must be sky high.

Only if the insurance company thought to ask whether or not he's a superhero in his spare time. I don't recall seeing that on any of the forms.

As stated, though, Bruce does sustain a lot of injuries, which he presumably attributes to skiing accidents, falling down stairs while drunk, things like that.

Although generally Batman's medical needs are seen to by people who are in on his secret and funded by the Wayne fortune -- such as Alfred (trained as a field medic) and Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

But Superman isn't human. Policies don't cover dogs or cats, why would they cover a Kryptonian?

Human or not, I don't think anyone in officialdom would attempt to deny that Superman is a person and therefore entitled to the rights and privileges of a person.

 

[Middle Earther]

Thinking about insurance companies: They don't cover flood damage in Florida. They will not cover earthquake damage here in BC (Western Canada) - Well, they do, but it's too horking expensive to think about getting it.

I think that Superman's policy would have a clause about not covering any Kryptonite related incidents. Something like that.

 

[Christopher]

I think that Superman's policy would have a clause about not covering any Kryptonite related incidents. Something like that.

Which would be a pretty useless policy for Superman to have, given how in any given ongoing Superman series, once Kryptonite is introduced, it becomes more and more ubiquitous until it's being used against him in almost every installment. (Which is the problem with having a character so powerful that only one contrived weakness can threaten him.)

 

[wamdue]

one option might be to charge Lex Luthor for Supermans care, since it was his gaint Kryptonite island that put Superman in hospital in the first place.

 

[Broccoli]

One of the unintentionally amusing things in Superman Returns that I really like is that Supes bolts on his hospital bill and doesn't even bother being discharged.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

One of the unintentionally amusing things in Superman Returns that I really like is that Supes bolts on his hospital bill and doesn't even bother being discharged.

Marvel I think also touched on this thing about superheroes getting sued.

But I would think, what about property insurance? Car insurance as well?

 

[Middle Earther]

I think that Superman's policy would have a clause about not covering any Kryptonite related incidents. Something like that.

Which would be a pretty useless policy for Superman to have, given how in any given ongoing Superman series, once Kryptonite is introduced, it becomes more and more ubiquitous until it's being used against him in almost every installment. (Which is the problem with having a character so powerful that only one contrived weakness can threaten him.)

That's why the insurance company would do it - it's all about profit, not coverage, you see...