Last July, as a healthy 32-year-old male with no health problems, I was denied short-term health insurance by PacificSource Health Plans.

Turns out that years before, during a routine annual checkup, my doctor heard an irregularity in my heartbeat and ordered an EKG. My heartbeat was monitored for a few minutes, the results indicated that there was no problem or diagnosis, and I went home with a clean bill of health.

According to PacificSource, however, following my doctor's prudent advice (to have my heartbeat checked) disqualified me for their health coverage. This despite the fact that the results indicated that everything was fine.

In other words, PacificSource penalized me for having a simple, preventive test that turned up negative. PacificSource would have agreed to cover me if I had chosen NOT to follow my doctor's recommendation and declined to get tested -- which, of course, would have meant that I wasn't screened for a potentially serious heart problem.