Ever wondered about the insurance premium food chain?
Guess whose the little fish? You. You are the shrimp. The crap on the ground that’s cheap to gather, batter and fry.
Do the math:
Uncle Joe works for the insurance company. He gives great gifts and has a nice house, and everything that comes with it. He throws great parties at his lake house every Labor Day.
The company he works for owns the three tallest buildings in the state.
Every Christmas, Uncle Joe and his whole family get to go on a cruise — all expenses paid! I got to once. The limo was killa. It followed us wherever we went.
Meanwhile, your insurance rate goes up every year. Uncle Joe says you should call another department, his doesn’t have anything to do with your bill.
Why is it a surprise that insurance companies pull legislative strings, spending millions per day to keep things as is? They’ve got a good thing goin’.
Watch PBS’ Bill Moyers interview industry insider, Wendell Potter:
Full disclosure: The author of this post is a former insurance agent who once enjoyed trips, limo rides and bonuses paid for by insurance companies. That was before she connected the dots.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 4, 2009.
Health insurance companies dont want government care and neither do I.
Health insurance companies also dont want to change the status quo to the other direction, via opening up the market by de-regulating the insurance industry, significantly lowering the bar for entry into the insurance market. Or, not requiring employers to provide HMOs amd PPOs, which would be a severe blow and likely would drop healthcare prices across the board. I want to see complete de-regulation.