Threats From Obama Administration Exhibit Thuggery

[mudwhistle]

Health insurance companies are being painted into a corner. The Obama Administration is instituting rules and regulations that are forcing them to raise their premiums to be able to stay in business.

They've already announced that they are raising rates to remain competitive and make a profit which resulted in a threat issued by the Sec. of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebilius that anyone who raises rates for reasons the Obama Administration feels is unwarranted will result in serious repercussions. [see below]

Health care professionals are already getting shafted on Medicade to the tune of 17 cent on the dollar so it seems that this is the way the White House intends on instituting the public option and eventually a single payer system in health care. Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies. By controlling what a health care provider charges and what a health insurance company can charge socialized medicine is on the way....and after looking at all of this everyone but the Obama Administration feels that this will not control costs but instead increase them.

Originally Posted by Kathleen Sebelius

Ms. Karen Ignagni
President and Chief Executive Officer
America’s Health Insurance Plans
601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
South Building, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Ms. Ignagni:

It has come to my attention that several health insurer carriers are sending letters to their enrollees falsely blaming premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act. I urge you to inform your members that there will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases.

The Affordable Care Act includes a number of provisions to provide Americans with access to health coverage that will be there when they need it. These provisions were fully supported by AHIP and its member companies. Many of the legislation’s key protections take effect for plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010. All plans must comply with provisions such as no lifetime limits, no rescissions except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact, and coverage of most adult children up to age 26. New plans must comply with additional provisions, such as coverage of preventive services with no cost sharing, access to OB / GYNs without referrals, restrictions on annual limits on coverage, a prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions of children (which applies to all group health plans), access to out-of-network emergency room services, and a strengthened appeals process. And health plans that cover early retirees could qualify for reinsurance to sustain that coverage for businesses, workers, and retirees alike.

According to our analysis and those of some industry and academic experts, any potential premium impact from the new consumer protections and increased quality provisions under the Affordable Care Act will be minimal. We estimate that that the effect will be no more than one to two percent. This is consistent with estimates from the Urban Institute (1 to 2 percent) and Mercer consultants (2.3 percent) as well as some insurers’ estimates. Pennsylvania’s Highmark, for example, estimates the effect of the legislation on premiums from 1.14 to 2 percent. Moreover, the trends in health costs, independent of the legislation, have slowed. Employers’ premiums for family coverage increased by only 3 percent in 2010 – a significant drop from previous years.

Any premium increases will be moderated by out-of-pocket savings resulting from the law. These savings include a reduction in the “hidden tax” on insured Americans that subsidizes care for the uninsured. By making sure insurance covers people who are most at risk, there will be less uncompensated care, and, as a result, the amount of cost shifting to those who have coverage today will be reduced by up to $1 billion in 2013. By making sure that high-risk individuals have insurance and emphasizing health care that prevents illnesses from becoming serious, long-term health problems, the law will also reduce the cost of avoidable hospitalizations. Prioritizing prevention without cost sharing could also result in significant savings: from lowering people’s out-of-pocket spending to lowering costs due to conditions like obesity, and to increasing worker productivity – today, increased sickness and lack of coverage security reduce economic output by $260 billion per year.

Given the importance of the new protections and the facts about their impact on costs, I ask for your help in stopping misinformation and scare tactics about the Affordable Care Act. Moreover, I want AHIP’s members to be put on notice: the Administration, in partnership with states, will not tolerate unjustified rate hikes in the name of consumer protections.

Already, my Department has provided 46 states with resources to strengthen the review and transparency of proposed premiums. Later this fall, we will issue a regulation that will require state or federal review of all potentially unreasonable rate increases filed by health insurers, with the justification for increases posted publicly for consumers and employers. We will also keep track of insurers with a record of unjustified rate increases: those plans may be excluded from health insurance Exchanges in 2014. Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections.

Americans want affordable and reliable health insurance, and it is our job to make it happen. We worked hard to change the system to help consumers. It is my hope we can work together to stop misinformation and misleading marketing from the start.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Sebelius

HHS to insurers: Don't blame us for your rates - Yahoo! News

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Obama promised lower rates, what are you worried about? I mean look at all the other promises he has delivered on so far.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

This is exactly why government needs to get out of the health care business

 

[mudwhistle]

This is how they plan on enforcing their regulations:

New Resources to Help States Crack Down on Unreasonable Health Insurance Premium Hikes - Fact Sheets | Newsroom | HealthCare.gov

 

[mudwhistle]

And here's where they intend on putting undesirable insurance providers that don't play ball out of business.

Future Actions

The Health Insurance Premium Review Grants are one element of a broad effort under the Affordable Care Act to reduce the unreasonable premium increases proposed by some insurers today. Additional resources from this $250 million program will be available in subsequent years to further strengthen State health insurance premium review procedures. Other statutory provisions designed to improve affordability include:

* In 2011, the Affordable Care Act allows the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review justifications for unreasonable increases in premiums and make them public;
* In 2011, insurers will generally be required to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care services and quality-improvement activities and limit their spending on overhead, marketing, CEO salaries, and profits; and
* In 2014, the Affordable Care Act empowers States to exclude health plans that show a pattern of excessive or unjustified premium increases from the new health insurance Exchanges.

I mentioned this a couple of months ago. Here it is in writing. It's now official.

 

[mudwhistle]

This is the dirty little secret involved with Obamacare.

On the surface it sounds really cool...but it's intention is meant to take control of the health care industry and control it in a manner that is dishonest and intrusive.

 

[Bfgrn]

Mud brain spews:
Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies.

ROUGH times? What is your definition of ROUGH? Do you mean rough, like being denied coverage for treatment for a life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like having to face bankruptcy and losing your house at the same time you are facing that life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like DYING and leaving your family without the means to bury you?

Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation

* Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
* Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
* Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
* Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
* Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
* U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
* WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169

 

[mudwhistle]

Mud brain spews:
Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies.

ROUGH times? What is your definition of ROUGH? Do you mean rough, like being denied coverage for treatment for a life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like having to face bankruptcy and losing your house at the same time you are facing that life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like DYING and leaving your family without the means to bury you?

Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation

* Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
* Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
* Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
* Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
* Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
* U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
* WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169

Typical Marxist argument.

Let's post the incomes of Democrats in Congress and their supporters.

Georges Soros made billions.....Obama himself made over $3 million last year. John Kerry....millions. Nancy Pelosi....millions more.....Harry Reid...the same....the list goes on and on.

Seems only the right (no pun intended) people deserve to make money in this economy.

Everyone else is under attack.

 

[mudwhistle]

I noticed the left's only defense for this Brown Shirt action is that those Fat-Cats need to be punished for making money in America.

Only Democrat friends and Union members are allowed to make huge amounts of cash in this country now. Profits are nolonger allowed for those who don't do what they're told. Get with the program and they'll make sure you can make a living as long as it's controlled.

 

[Bfgrn]

Mud brain spews:
Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies.

ROUGH times? What is your definition of ROUGH? Do you mean rough, like being denied coverage for treatment for a life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like having to face bankruptcy and losing your house at the same time you are facing that life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like DYING and leaving your family without the means to bury you?

Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation

* Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
* Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
* Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
* Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
* Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
* U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
* WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169

Typical Marxist argument.

Let's post the incomes of Democrats in Congress and their supporters.

Georges Soros made billions.....Obama himself made over $3 million last year. John Kerry....millions. Nancy Pelosi....millions more.....Harry Reid...the same....the list goes on and on.

Seems only the right (no pun intended) people deserve to make money in this economy.

Everyone else is under attack.

Stick the 'Marxist' shit up your ass you morally bankrupt scum bag and answer my question...how do YOU define ROUGH?

 

[WillowTree]

Mud brain spews:
Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies.

ROUGH times? What is your definition of ROUGH? Do you mean rough, like being denied coverage for treatment for a life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like having to face bankruptcy and losing your house at the same time you are facing that life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like DYING and leaving your family without the means to bury you?

Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation

* Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
* Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
* Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
* Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
* Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
* U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
* WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169

Typical Marxist argument.

Let's post the incomes of Democrats in Congress and their supporters.

Georges Soros made billions.....Obama himself made over $3 million last year. John Kerry....millions. Nancy Pelosi....millions more.....Harry Reid...the same....the list goes on and on.

Seems only the right (no pun intended) people deserve to make money in this economy.

Everyone else is under attack.

Stick the 'Marxist' shit up your ass you morally bankrupt scum bag and answer my question...how do YOU define ROUGH?

rough is when you izz sitting in da basement and mummy has to pay for your 26 year old ass, and if mummy don't do it "We the People" must do it. That's rough. Rough is when We the people are forced to pay for stupid fucking heroin addicts to go in and get their Methadone injections. fuck all you leeches.

 

[Bfgrn]

Typical Marxist argument.

Let's post the incomes of Democrats in Congress and their supporters.

Georges Soros made billions.....Obama himself made over $3 million last year. John Kerry....millions. Nancy Pelosi....millions more.....Harry Reid...the same....the list goes on and on.

Seems only the right (no pun intended) people deserve to make money in this economy.

Everyone else is under attack.

Stick the 'Marxist' shit up your ass you morally bankrupt scum bag and answer my question...how do YOU define ROUGH?

rough is when you izz sitting in da basement and mummy has to pay for your 26 year old ass, and if mummy don't do it "We the People" must do it. That's rough. Rough is when We the people are forced to pay for stupid fucking heroin addicts to go in and get their Methadone injections. fuck all you leeches.

Thousands of responsible Americans have faithfully paid their insurance premiums only to be denied coverage when a catastrophic illness occurs. These are the REAL 'Death Panels', but they are not decisions made by government or Obama, they are decisions made by the REAL leeches; the scum bag insurance cartels.

At the many free health care clinics around the country, a starling FACT became know...over 80% of the people that show up for health care HAVE A JOB, but they don't qualify for employer insurance.

Health reform's human stories

11/16/2009 7:39:43 PM ET

New Orleans, La. — — It happened as I watched a 50-something woman walk out, after spending several hours being attended to by volunteer doctors. "She's decided against treatment. A reasonable decision under the circumstances," the doctor tells us as she heads for the next patient. The president of the board of the National Association of Free Health Clinics tells me why: "It's stage four breast cancer, her body is filled with tumors." I don't know when that woman last saw a doctor. But I do know that if she had health insurance, the odds she would have seen a doctor long ago are much higher, and her chances for an earlier diagnosis and treatment would have been far greater.

After watching for hours as the patients moved through the clinic, it was hard to believe that I was in America.

Eighty-three percent of the patients they see are employed, they are not accepting other government help on a large scale, not "welfare queens" as some would like to have us believe. They are tax-paying, good, upstanding citizens who are trying to make it and give their kids a better life just like you and me.

Ninety percent of the patients who came through Saturday's clinic had two or more diagnoses.

Eighty-two percent had a life-threatening condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension. They are victims of a system built with corporate profits at its center, which long ago forgot the moral imperative that should drive us to show compassion to our fellow men and women.

Health reform is not about Democrats or Republicans or who can score political points for the next election, it's about people. It's about fairness and justice in a system that knows none. I'd defy even the most hardened capitalist-loving-conservative to do what I did on Saturday and continue to pretend that the system in place right now is working.

Countdown chose to highlight and raise money for the Association of Free Clinics because we knew the work they do is so vitally important and we wanted to show in real terms how great the need is. We invited several politicians to attend so they could see first hand how critical the situation is. All declined. Some explained that they talk with constituents all the time and know very well of the need for reform.

I have news for them, these people didn't need to speak. Their actions spoke far louder than any words. Having to get a check up and diagnoses at a free clinic because they have no other option tells you all you need to know. There are no words that can accurately describe the quiet desperation on the faces of the patients. Every single one I spoke to, and every one I heard talking with doctors, expressed their gratitude for the event and wished that they were held more often.

They have been given the resources in their local communities with which they can get follow up care, but they are also the few. Over 700-thousand people in Louisiana alone have no health care, most of them with jobs that don't offer insurance.

Or, worse, they have to decide whether to pay for that or food and housing. Four patients were taken out on stretchers and admitted immediately to hospitals. One woman who didn't know why she was feeling bad had a blood pressure of 280 over 180, numbness in her right arm, and "a slight headache." She now has a shot at survival, but without her attendance at the clinic, it was a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

I spoke with a nurse who was there not as a volunteer, but as a patient. He works two part time jobs at hospitals providing quality care to those who have the one thing he doesn't. Many of his patients share his condition of high blood pressure, but they are fortunate to have insurance to pay for him to care for them while he goes without.

His situation is not uncommon, he has tried for years to get more hours at one of his jobs so he will be eligible for benefits, but it hasn't happened yet. Our system of for-profit health care can't afford to give him and others benefits - might make the stock price drop a penny or two.

The last time the media gathered at that convention center, it was for a natural disaster in which our government was rendered useless due to incompetence.

This time we were there to cover a man-made disaster of even larger proportions. This is a disaster that goes largely unseen by most Americans. It is not too late for our current government to show that they are competent, and can do what the vast majority of Americans are asking them to. The incredibly dedicated people at the Association of Free Clinics told me the clinic would change me and I knew it would. None but the most hardened and heartless among us could watch that event and not be moved to action.

I have changed. I am gratified that just over one thousand people were able to get the minimal amount of care and resources for follow up. But, I am heart-sick for the many more like them who didn't have the time or didn't know that they could get care on Saturday.

They walk through their lives not knowing when the ticking time bomb might go off.
Politicians continue to tell us we are the most compassionate and caring people, and clearly we have done much good in the world. I left the event overwhelmed by the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, as well as ordinary citizens who came to help. I am left with one overwhelming question: what does it say about us as a nation of people who can live in a country so rich and yet allow this to continue?

 

[WillowTree]

Stick the 'Marxist' shit up your ass you morally bankrupt scum bag and answer my question...how do YOU define ROUGH?

rough is when you izz sitting in da basement and mummy has to pay for your 26 year old ass, and if mummy don't do it "We the People" must do it. That's rough. Rough is when We the people are forced to pay for stupid fucking heroin addicts to go in and get their Methadone injections. fuck all you leeches.

Thousands of responsible Americans have faithfully paid their insurance premiums only to be denied coverage when a catastrophic illness occurs. These are the REAL 'Death Panels', but they are not decisions made by government or Obama, they are decisions made by the REAL leeches; the scum bag insurance cartels.

At the many free health care clinics around the country, a starling FACT became know...over 80% of the people that show up for health care HAVE A JOB, but they don't qualify for employer insurance.

Health reform's human stories

11/16/2009 7:39:43 PM ET

New Orleans, La. — — It happened as I watched a 50-something woman walk out, after spending several hours being attended to by volunteer doctors. "She's decided against treatment. A reasonable decision under the circumstances," the doctor tells us as she heads for the next patient. The president of the board of the National Association of Free Health Clinics tells me why: "It's stage four breast cancer, her body is filled with tumors." I don't know when that woman last saw a doctor. But I do know that if she had health insurance, the odds she would have seen a doctor long ago are much higher, and her chances for an earlier diagnosis and treatment would have been far greater.

After watching for hours as the patients moved through the clinic, it was hard to believe that I was in America.

Eighty-three percent of the patients they see are employed, they are not accepting other government help on a large scale, not "welfare queens" as some would like to have us believe. They are tax-paying, good, upstanding citizens who are trying to make it and give their kids a better life just like you and me.

Ninety percent of the patients who came through Saturday's clinic had two or more diagnoses.

Eighty-two percent had a life-threatening condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension. They are victims of a system built with corporate profits at its center, which long ago forgot the moral imperative that should drive us to show compassion to our fellow men and women.

Health reform is not about Democrats or Republicans or who can score political points for the next election, it's about people. It's about fairness and justice in a system that knows none. I'd defy even the most hardened capitalist-loving-conservative to do what I did on Saturday and continue to pretend that the system in place right now is working.

Countdown chose to highlight and raise money for the Association of Free Clinics because we knew the work they do is so vitally important and we wanted to show in real terms how great the need is. We invited several politicians to attend so they could see first hand how critical the situation is. All declined. Some explained that they talk with constituents all the time and know very well of the need for reform.

I have news for them, these people didn't need to speak. Their actions spoke far louder than any words. Having to get a check up and diagnoses at a free clinic because they have no other option tells you all you need to know. There are no words that can accurately describe the quiet desperation on the faces of the patients. Every single one I spoke to, and every one I heard talking with doctors, expressed their gratitude for the event and wished that they were held more often.

They have been given the resources in their local communities with which they can get follow up care, but they are also the few. Over 700-thousand people in Louisiana alone have no health care, most of them with jobs that don't offer insurance.

Or, worse, they have to decide whether to pay for that or food and housing. Four patients were taken out on stretchers and admitted immediately to hospitals. One woman who didn't know why she was feeling bad had a blood pressure of 280 over 180, numbness in her right arm, and "a slight headache." She now has a shot at survival, but without her attendance at the clinic, it was a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

I spoke with a nurse who was there not as a volunteer, but as a patient. He works two part time jobs at hospitals providing quality care to those who have the one thing he doesn't. Many of his patients share his condition of high blood pressure, but they are fortunate to have insurance to pay for him to care for them while he goes without.

His situation is not uncommon, he has tried for years to get more hours at one of his jobs so he will be eligible for benefits, but it hasn't happened yet. Our system of for-profit health care can't afford to give him and others benefits - might make the stock price drop a penny or two.

The last time the media gathered at that convention center, it was for a natural disaster in which our government was rendered useless due to incompetence.

This time we were there to cover a man-made disaster of even larger proportions. This is a disaster that goes largely unseen by most Americans. It is not too late for our current government to show that they are competent, and can do what the vast majority of Americans are asking them to. The incredibly dedicated people at the Association of Free Clinics told me the clinic would change me and I knew it would. None but the most hardened and heartless among us could watch that event and not be moved to action.

I have changed. I am gratified that just over one thousand people were able to get the minimal amount of care and resources for follow up. But, I am heart-sick for the many more like them who didn't have the time or didn't know that they could get care on Saturday.

They walk through their lives not knowing when the ticking time bomb might go off.
Politicians continue to tell us we are the most compassionate and caring people, and clearly we have done much good in the world. I left the event overwhelmed by the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, as well as ordinary citizens who came to help. I am left with one overwhelming question: what does it say about us as a nation of people who can live in a country so rich and yet allow this to continue?

obie wan and his thugs stole 960 billion dollars from the people who need the most health care at a time when millions more will need it. The Seniors. That's the truth about obie wan's death panels. 960 Billion dollars that seniors paid into the system for their health care has been stolen.

 

[mudwhistle]

My heart really pumps purple-piss.

It wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't for this Administrations attempt at demonizing the industry....even though nothing they do will reduce costs. No new law makes it easier for anyone to get insurance. It just makes it more expensive and puts insurance providers out of business. One of the reasons they charge so much is because of abuses and fraud by policy holders and the simple fact that the government refuses to pay full price for health care after it's been provided to the beneficiaries. Oh...and don't forget the trial lawyers that are bringing frivolous lawsuits against doctors which only ends up raising their malpractice insurance and only results in lawyers getting rich off both the doctors and the people that are paying premiums.

New regulations I pointed out earlier will make it impossible for insurance providers to function in the market and force them ether out of business or force them to comply to ridiculous mandates. Eventually death panels that are already being formed will decide who deserves treatment and who doesn't qualify. And don't forget the fact that Obama is in the pocket of pharmaceuticals refusing to allow competitive drug purchases across state lines.

But if you just want to get even with those evil bastards then you'll have your wish

Revenge is a poor way to do business and will only result in job losses and eventually more expensive health care.

This is the cause of this weak economy..plain and simple. This constant need for revenge by the left.

 

[WillowTree]

My heart really pumps purple-piss.

It wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't for this Administrations attempt at demonizing the industry....even though nothing they do will reduce costs. No new law makes it easier for anyone to get insurance. It just makes it more expensive and puts insurance providers out of business. One of the reasons they charge so much is because of abuses and fraud by policy holders and the simple fact that the government refuses to pay full price for health care after it's been provided to the beneficiaries. Oh...and don't forget the trial lawyers that are bringing frivolous lawsuits against doctors which only ends up raising their malpractice insurance and only results in lawyers getting rich off both the doctors and the people that are paying premiums.

New regulations I pointed out earlier will make it impossible for insurance providers to function in the market and force them ether out of business or force them to comply to ridiculous mandates. Eventually death panels that are already being formed will decide who deserves treatment and who doesn't qualify.

But you just want to get even with those evil bastards then you'll have your wish

Revenge is a poor way to do business and will only result in job losses and eventually more expensive health care.

This is the cause of this weak economy..plain and simple.

that's the obie wan way, demonize demonize demonize. the American people are watching and very much aware, they are sick as shit of it too.

 

[Bfgrn]

My heart really pumps purple-piss.

It wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't for this Administrations attempt at demonizing the industry....even though nothing they do will reduce costs. No new law makes it easier for anyone to get insurance. It just makes it more expensive and puts insurance providers out of business. One of the reasons they charge so much is because of abuses and fraud by policy holders and the simple fact that the government refuses to pay full price for health care after it's been provided to the beneficiaries. Oh...and don't forget the trial lawyers that are bringing frivolous lawsuits against doctors which only ends up raising their malpractice insurance and only results in lawyers getting rich off both the doctors and the people that are paying premiums.

New regulations I pointed out earlier will make it impossible for insurance providers to function in the market and force them ether out of business or force them to comply to ridiculous mandates. Eventually death panels that are already being formed will decide who deserves treatment and who doesn't qualify.

But you just want to get even with those evil bastards then you'll have your wish

Revenge is a poor way to do business and will only result in job losses and eventually more expensive health care.

This is the cause of this weak economy..plain and simple.

There's good reason to demonize that industry and the scum bags that control them. In the 1990's health insurance companies were spending around 85 cents on the dollar for medical CARE, but Wall Street got their grubby little hands on control of that industry and force these companies to stay below 80% or they punish them severely in the market. As premiums skyrocketed, coverage DECLINED and MORE of the costs were put on the consumer.

Why don't you do yourself a favor...listen to someone that knows the industry because he was there. He spent 20 years as an executive at CIGNA.

Wendell Potter on Profits Before Patients
July 10, 2009

Last month, testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by a former health insurance insider named Wendell Potter made news even before it occurred: CBS NEWS headlined: "Cigna Whistleblower to Testify." After Potter's testimony the industry scrambled to do damage control: "Insurers defend rescissions, take heat for lack of transparency."

In his first extended television interview since leaving the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry. "I didn't intend to [speak out], until it became really clear to me that the industry is resorting to the same tactics they've used over the years, and particularly back in the early '90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan."

Potter began his trip from health care spokesperson to reform advocate while back home in Tennessee. Potter attended a "health care expedition," a makeshift health clinic set up at a fairgrounds, and he tells Bill Moyers, "It was absolutely stunning. When I walked through the fairground gates, I saw hundreds of people lined up, in the rain. It was raining that day. Lined up, waiting to get care, in animal stalls. Animal stalls."

Looking back over his long career, Potter sees an industry corrupted by Wall Street expectations and greed. According to Potter, insurers have every incentive to deny coverage — every dollar they don't pay out to a claim is a dollar they can add to their profits, and Wall Street investors demand they pay out less every year. Under these conditions, Potter says, "You don't think about individual people. You think about the numbers, and whether or not you're going to meet Wall Street's expectations."

Watch Video
Read Transcript

HERE: Bill Moyers Journal . Wendell Potter on Profits Before Patients | PBS

 

[mudwhistle]

My heart really pumps purple-piss.

It wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't for this Administrations attempt at demonizing the industry....even though nothing they do will reduce costs. No new law makes it easier for anyone to get insurance. It just makes it more expensive and puts insurance providers out of business. One of the reasons they charge so much is because of abuses and fraud by policy holders and the simple fact that the government refuses to pay full price for health care after it's been provided to the beneficiaries. Oh...and don't forget the trial lawyers that are bringing frivolous lawsuits against doctors which only ends up raising their malpractice insurance and only results in lawyers getting rich off both the doctors and the people that are paying premiums.

New regulations I pointed out earlier will make it impossible for insurance providers to function in the market and force them ether out of business or force them to comply to ridiculous mandates. Eventually death panels that are already being formed will decide who deserves treatment and who doesn't qualify.

But you just want to get even with those evil bastards then you'll have your wish

Revenge is a poor way to do business and will only result in job losses and eventually more expensive health care.

This is the cause of this weak economy..plain and simple.

There's good reason to demonize that industry and the scum bags that control them. In the 1990's health insurance companies were spending around 85 cents on the dollar for medical CARE, but Wall Street got their grubby little hands on control of that industry and force these companies to stay below 80% or they punish them severely in the market. As premiums skyrocketed, coverage DECLINED and MORE of the costs were put on the consumer.

Why don't you do yourself a favor...listen to someone that knows the industry because he was there. He spent 20 years as an executive at CIGNA.

Wendell Potter on Profits Before Patients
July 10, 2009

Last month, testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by a former health insurance insider named Wendell Potter made news even before it occurred: CBS NEWS headlined: "Cigna Whistleblower to Testify." After Potter's testimony the industry scrambled to do damage control: "Insurers defend rescissions, take heat for lack of transparency."

In his first extended television interview since leaving the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry. "I didn't intend to [speak out], until it became really clear to me that the industry is resorting to the same tactics they've used over the years, and particularly back in the early '90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan."

Potter began his trip from health care spokesperson to reform advocate while back home in Tennessee. Potter attended a "health care expedition," a makeshift health clinic set up at a fairgrounds, and he tells Bill Moyers, "It was absolutely stunning. When I walked through the fairground gates, I saw hundreds of people lined up, in the rain. It was raining that day. Lined up, waiting to get care, in animal stalls. Animal stalls."

Looking back over his long career, Potter sees an industry corrupted by Wall Street expectations and greed. According to Potter, insurers have every incentive to deny coverage — every dollar they don't pay out to a claim is a dollar they can add to their profits, and Wall Street investors demand they pay out less every year. Under these conditions, Potter says, "You don't think about individual people. You think about the numbers, and whether or not you're going to meet Wall Street's expectations."

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HEREBill Moyers Journal . Wendell Potter on Profits Before Patients | PBS

I was licensed to sell insurance here in TN did it for a while and couldn't make any money doing it....so I've been in the industry.

 

[saveliberty]

If your government thinks they can run healthcare better than insurance executives, hospital adminstrators and doctors, pretty soon they will think they can run your life better than you.

 

[AmericanFirst]

Mud brain spews:
Doctors are in for some rough times folks and so are the insurance companies.

ROUGH times? What is your definition of ROUGH? Do you mean rough, like being denied coverage for treatment for a life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like having to face bankruptcy and losing your house at the same time you are facing that life threatening illness? Do you mean rough, like DYING and leaving your family without the means to bury you?

Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation

* Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
* Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
* Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
* Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
* Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
* U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
* WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169

Typical Marxist argument.

Let's post the incomes of Democrats in Congress and their supporters.

Georges Soros made billions.....Obama himself made over $3 million last year. John Kerry....millions. Nancy Pelosi....millions more.....Harry Reid...the same....the list goes on and on.

Seems only the right (no pun intended) people deserve to make money in this economy.

Everyone else is under attack.

Stick the 'Marxist' shit up your ass you morally bankrupt scum bag and answer my question...how do YOU define ROUGH?

Obama is a socialist marxist pig, and if you support his and his other idiot friends agenda, you are an idiot socialist pig also.

 

[AmericanFirst]

The health care fiasco has nothing to do with health care, but was nothing more than a power grab for the socialists period. Obama and his socialist puppet masters have lied to America, again.