Sorry Benjamin, prosthetic arms are for socialists.

Compassion may be running short these days, but the same can’t be said about stunning acts of greed and short sided business selfishness.

Benjamin French (age 12) was born with an incomplete right arm as the appendage ends at the elbow. Aside from wowing the crowds with “Hey, where did my arm go” tricks at social gatherings, this has obviously made his life much more difficult. Benjamin has insurance, which has been paying for his prosthetic arms, but in the face of his insurances companies generosity he spit and went one step too far.

He grew.

Apparently “children” grow and during this process they get taller, wider and if they are gothic, they become paler and carry around an undeserved sense of mystery and general cockery. (Yes, it’s a word).

The sad thing is that this kid can still throw a football better than I can and that's WITH his elbow arm.

The problem with this act of expansion is that his insurance company will no longer pay for his prosthetic, alerting Benjamin to the fact that he has “used his maximum lifetime benefit amount.” Which, and I could be wrong about this, is another way of saying, “You cost us too much money and if you really cared about our feelings, you would have been born with two complete arms, like the rest of us.” Misplaced cynicism aside, not only is this uncommon, it’s perfectly legal in Benjamin’s home state.

In his 12 years, he has been fitted with seven prostheses. His most recent replacement will cost nearly $30,000 and his doctor says he will soon grow out of it.

But, according to his insurance company, the boy is ineligible for further coverage of prosthetic devices because he has already spent his lifetime maximum benefit.

Benjamin’s family happens to live in Michigan, one of 33 states where insurance companies are allowed to set annual and lifetime caps on prosthetic coverage. The family’s policy with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan covers a maximum of $30,000 per lifetime for prosthetics, plus $1,000 per year for repairs. In states such as Colorado and Maryland, the law says there can be no such cap on prosthetics.

“It seems really unfair,” said Benjamin’s mother, Kristen French. “The insurance company can do this in one state, but not in another? It’s ridiculous.”

The French family represents one small part of a for-profit health care system rife with inequities and inconsistencies: Some people have insurance, some do not. For those who are insured, individual policies operate under different rules than group policies. Each insurance company and every individual policy has different requirements, exclusions, and benefits.

And, as in the case of Benjamin French — people with nearly identical health problems may have vastly different experiences with their private health insurance companies depending on their state of residence. Another example of the inequity: If Benjamin’s family were poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, most if not all of the cost of his new arm would be covered.

His parents should have thought about that before they selfishly earned too much money to provide for their family. My suggestion? Quit your jobs. Prosthetic arms and the ability to wipe yourself are of small concern when you are starving to death.

So what does someone do in this situation? I would like to cite this as another reason for comprehensive health care reform, but that would be redundant. So, in place of a personal opinion about the seriously failing standards of our health care system I will simply say this.

Sorry kid, in America, money talks and you’ll have to learn to live without.

Read the entire article at The Huffington Post