During the health care reform debates, insurance companies did their best to convince everyone that they were the best thing to ever happen to sick folks in America. As always, some people swallowed the B.S. whole. Most of us, though, only had to recall a friend or family member’s latest health insurance horror story and, presto, back to the real world, where insurers don’t give a rosy rat’s ass about their customers – particularly if those customers’ pesky illnesses threaten the company’s profits.
In case you’re still seething over Obama’s “Stalinist takeover” of health care, try reading an eye-opening new report from Reuters. The news organization reports that insurance giant Wellpoint (i.e., Blue Cross Blue Shield) has been “targeting” its customers with breast cancer, expressly to deny them needed care. Wellpoint set up a computer program that would launch a fraud investigation whenever one of its customers was diagnosed with breast cancer. The company would then start looking for any excuse to cancel the customer’s policy and deny them coverage retroactively, in a process called “rescission.” The new health care law is supposed to end such practices, but it will take careful enforcement to make it stick – that, and perhaps a few insurance execs sitting behind bars.
This article appears in Apr 20-26, 2010.
It was more like Obama finally finding someone he could demonize successfully. Remember Obama said doctors were cutting off legs to make a buck. This didnt go over so well so he had to change targets. Obama also targeted other groups before he settled on insurance companies.
As long as the company is not breaking the law and that they find a legit reason then there is no problem. If they make things up or do other illegal things then they should be punished but that does not seem to be the case.
Just wait and see how many people get turned down in Obama’s world. The number one insurer for turning people down is the US GOVERNMENT! Live it and love suckers.
Health Insurers should have a limited amount of time they can investigate fraud. Waiting until someone is sick to do the investigation is wrong. Hiding behind a technicality they are still intentionally denying coverage to people to make a profit knowing full well the person may die.
There are statutes of limitation in many states that limit how much time you have to sue an insurance company. Yet insurance companies want unlimited time to complete a fraud investigation.
The only real answer to this is switch your insurance company now. Make damn sure everything is perfect. Otherwise, you may be the next person to be denied medical coverage and die.
While nobody wants to see fraud escalate, american health insurance companies hide behind this simple logic as an excuse to knowingly murder people sometimes after taking the persons money for years, while insisting they be allowed to keep all the money paid to them.
If you have lost someone to breast cancer who head Wellpoint insurance canceled just remember who murdered your Mother, Wife, Sister or Friend and seek justice.
Murder is murder
Just because you lose your insurance does not mean you are not going to get treatment. You might have to sell off some stuff if you have it. If you refuse to sell your assests for treatment, then who is killing who?
THis still doesnt change that fact that the government is the biggest denier of health care claims.
A limit on honest mistakes is fine but not for out and out fraud.
Frank you said “A limit on honest mistakes is fine but not for out and out fraud.”
Last time I checked the penalty for fraud was not a death sentence. People do die from these insurance companies actions.
You completely ignore the fact that insurance companies are doing this to lots of people who did not really commit fraud but missed a detail on their insurance forms. Why should they die and why do you want them too ?
The insurance companies are accepting money in some cases for years and then only checking for fraud once people get sick. How is this fair ?
This means not one single american can truly trust that the insurance they have will actually be ready to help them in their time of need.
People should not have to gamble to obtain health insurance and the taxpayers should not be burdened with escalating health care costs that come from Personal Bankruptcy’s brought on by unfair denial of coverage.
You just can not accept that insurance companies profit from questionable activities. But you seem to have no problem believing the worst about people.
Thats a pity because you appear to believe in Insurance Companies more then you do your won race (humans).
Keep on hating
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