Grocery discount cards - Info on your purchases sold to health insurance companies

[ShootSpeeders]

That's the real purpose for the discount cards. Don't use your real name.

Grocery loyalty card purchases surveilled by insurance companies to raise rates and deny claims |

Posted on March 4, 2013
I warned Natural News readers about this years ago: those grocery store “loyalty cards” that they push on you to enjoy discounts on groceries are actually a behavior surveillance technology that’s used to capture and profile your grocery purchasing patterns. This data is then sold off to insurance companies who use it to raise your rates by linking your grocery purchases with the risk of disease.

Buying a lot of ice cream? You’re more likely to be obese and diabetic.

Purchasing a lot of processed meats and homogenized milk? You’re more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

Bringing home a lot of processed food with additives, chemical sweeteners and chemical preservatives? You’re far more likely to get cancer.

Health insurance companies are now using this data to develop these sorts of “risk profiles” of individual consumers. And it’s all enabled because people are so incredibly obedient that they actually fill out their real names and addresses on these grocery loyalty cards. Health insurance companies simply use credit reporting databases to link your grocery loyalty card account number to your health insurance account number, and from there, your insurance rates can be adjusted based on what you buy to eat.

Even worse, they can use this data to deny your health insurance claims. For example, if you get diagnosed with cancer, your health insurance company can look through your grocery purchasing history and show that you bought processed meat products containing cancer-causing sodium nitrite. They can use this data to deny payment on your claims and push the blame on YOU for living a “cancer lifestyle.”

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Why would anyone give their real name and address for these scams?

Unless you want to pay more, you're pretty well stuck having to use them but the two I did give names for were under Sylvester and Tweety Bird.

But, you don't even have to do that. Read the fine point at the bottom. It clearly states that you don't have to give any info at all.

 

[lynn63]

Obamacare failed to put regulations on premium hikes for any reason is what is generating this insanity.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Holy. Crap. I've used one of these cards for years and no, it didn't occur to me that they were selling my info to insurance companies.

I''m going to get a new card and use a fake name. Can they track your purchases if you pay via debit or credit? Do they sell that (payment) info as well?

 

[konradv]

Holy. Crap. I've used one of these cards for years and no, it didn't occur to me that they were selling my info to insurance companies.

I''m going to get a new card and use a fake name. Can they track your purchases if you pay via debit or credit? Do they sell that (payment) info as well?

That's capitalism. Everything's for sale unless you read the fine print and opt out.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Holy. Crap. I've used one of these cards for years and no, it didn't occur to me that they were selling my info to insurance companies.

I''m going to get a new card and use a fake name. Can they track your purchases if you pay via debit or credit? Do they sell that (payment) info as well?

Its not just insurance.

Think back to direct mail advertising you get. And, scratch your head because, well, I'll be darned, I DO use that product and looky, there's a coupon.

Its a huge scam.

Obamacare failed to put regulations on premium hikes for any reason is what is generating this insanity.

You might want to look at ObamaCare before and after the Rs got their mits on it. Or, you could just go on blaming Obama for everything from the Gulf War to sun spots because fux tells you to.

 

[boedicca]

What conspiracy theory nonsense.

Yes, grocery stores are going to narc on their customers for buying profitable products so that those customers will be punished via health care into not buy those profitable products.

It's truly frightening that you idiots have the right to vote.