Obama cites Waxahachie woman's breast cancer nightmare: acne used as pretext to cancel insurance

Regardless of the type of acne a person has, whether it be facial acne, chest acne or other type, this should never be a reason why an insurance company would cancel someones policy.

President Obama has cited a Texas case as a case in point for what's wrong with the health care system - a woman whose breast cancer treatment was delayed when the insurance company canceled her policy for failing to report a pre-existing condition: acne.

That's a pretty outrageous scenario, and what makes it an especially potent anecdote for the president is that - although he didn't mention it - the lawmaker who intervened on the woman's behalf was none other than Rep. Joe Barton of Ennis, the senior Republican on the powerful House commerce committee.

Her name is Robin Beaton of Waxahachie. In June, she testified about her plight to Congress, eight months after finally undergoing the breast removal surgery. Here's a CNN report.

Obama tonight:

    "...More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. It happens every day.... [A] woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size. That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America."

No comment yet from Barton about the president co-opting a story he championed, given his strong disdain for Obama's approach to reforming health care.

Read Beaton's testimony here. Watch it here.