Could health insurers classify domestic abuse as a pre-existing medical condition and a reason to deny coverage?

Mississippi and seven other states are without laws to block such action, but a coastal lawmaker is working toward changing that in the 2010 Legislature.

"Although we have no reports of it ever happening, and I can tell you of no cases of a victim being turned away, there's nothing in the codes to prevent it from happening," said Sandy Middleton, state legislative chairwoman for the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

She said that the coalition was in the early stages of an investigation into the matter.

State Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, has drafted a bill that would prevent insurers from culling domestic abuse victims from health coverage plans.

Jones expressed concern that Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the recent economic downturn became triggers for domestic abuse. "It's such a big problem in our state," he said. "Whenever things get bad, domestic violence increases like clockwork."

Other states that have no laws to prevent insurers from denying coverage based on previous abuse incidents are Idaho, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, according to the National Women's Law Center.

Jones said that the state's unfair trade laws do enable its insurance regulators to look into cases of mistreatment by insurers.

But domestic victims often never speak up about the abuse that they endure, he said. "Sometimes just reporting it to the police is traumatic enough. If they were denied medical coverage, I'm not sure they would tell anyone," Jones said.

Jones, who is vice chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said he plans to have the bill ready for session in January.