If you want to know what the insurance companies are really like, please read this article: “The Health Care Chamber of Horrors: Choose Your Bureaucrat!”
"Well, government is not the only place where bureaucrats work. They are ubiquitous in those wonderful companies we pay to bring us our health insurance policies. . . .
"Consider this mini-chamber of horrors, culled from a recent and highly dramatic House hearing chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman of California.
Robin Beaton, 59, found out last June she had an aggressive form of breast cancer and needed surgery -- immediately. But just days before her double mastectomy, she found out that her insurance provider would not cover the procedure. (In the industry, they call it "rescission.") . . .
"And Peggy Raddatz testified on behalf of her late brother, who was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin's type lymphoma. In the midst of his chemotherapy treatment, his coverage was cancelled and he was not able to receive the stem cell transplant needed to save his life. . . .
"These are but a few of the thousands of people who thought their premiums entitled them to be treated. And if you think these are extraordinary cases, consider this:
"BLUE CROSS OF CALIFORNIA, A SUBSIDIARY OF WELLPOINT, ENCOURAGED EMPLOYEES THROUGH PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS TO CANCEL THE HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH EXPENSIVE ILLNESSES. . One Blue Cross employee earned a perfect score of "5" for "exceptional performance" on an evaluation that noted the employee's role in dropping thousands of policyholders and avoiding nearly $10 million worth of medical care.
"Blue Cross of California and two other insurers saved more than $300 million in medical claims by canceling more than 20,000 sick policyholders over a five-year period.
Health care should be a right, not a business.
Anonymous
of CT
@
Jun 23, 2009 23:47:55 PM
Reform in healthcare
Regulation reform. Our system we havae now doesn't work. This is my story:
Beware Sun Healthcare Group Inc., where my mother was harmed by known broken equipment they refused to repair while even commited to a California state injunction. The Dept of Justice turned a blind eye, so did the Dept of Health. WHY? My mother suffered a horrific death. Then I was fooled, lied to, manipulated and threatened in mediation. I filed malpractice against my attorney Daniel Leipold for neglecting to file proper damages for wrongful death, elder abuse and pain & suffering(duh!)-- then he sadly died 2 weeks later. I won the case. But SUN cheated California taxpayers out of millions of dollars in fines the injunction would have cost them had the DOJ done their job, $100,000 if the Dept of Health had. Their own medical director, Dr L Scott Stoney, confirmed the broken equipment killed my mother and quit over the lack of response from SUN's management. They make profits for their shareholders at the cost of elder abuse and manslaughter.
Do we really want this in American any longer? Please reform the regulatory system as well.
Deborah Calvert, daughter of Evelyn Calvert, Newport Beach, California
U.S. News's "America's Best" delivers recognized, authoritative information and clear, objective rankings that help readers plan for their life and ultimately, make the most of it.
Anonymous of CT @ Jun 23, 2009 23:47:55 PM
Deborah Calvert of CA @ Jun 22, 2009 18:20:03 PM
Back to article