So, Where Was The Republican Outrage On Insurance Ethics Pre-Obamacare?
Upfront, let me tell you I was hugely disappointed when the public option and/or single payer got shelved in the formation of Obamacare. And as one in the health care industry I was amazed that candidate Obama was willing to trust the health insurance industry to do the right thing for a revamped health insurance public policy, having seen them in action up close and professionally. But, I hung in there, reluctantly, as health policy got formulated by my President’s new administration and our Party in congress.
But, how quickly we forget the outrageous ethics of the insurance industry in their non-coverage of so called pre-existing conditions, cancellation of policies when people got sick and non-renewal of policies for families with high risk. This was routine corporate behavior back in the day. Did we hear anything from Republican policy makers about complete lack of ethics from this industry regarding such treatment of the 85% of the American public covered by so-called high end, employer based insurance? Hell no. Not one word. For that matter, not much either from corporate conservadems.
So, now, candidate Obama is pilloried by these clowns for having made a perfectly reasonable generalization, aimed at the vast 85% majority of the electorate who were employer insured, that they would keep their insurance under his plan. He even advocated building in a grandfathering protection for those not so covered who relied on their own privately purchased policies that were known to be pieces of shit, coverage wise. Yes, if you wanted to keep your piece of shit policy, you dumb ass, you could.
This whole discussion now should be not about what candidate and now twice elected President Obama said back in the day, but the ethics and social responsibility of this so called industry. Their ethics then and their ethics now, manipulating the system, squeezing through loopholes and laying blame on public policy for their outrageous practices and ethics free behavior.
Let’s have that debate, that discussion as we now seriously reconsider how we offer the citizens of America a public option/Medicare for all protection against the serial unethical culture of the private health insurance industry. Their immorality is uncurable. Let’s put them out of their misery.
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Yeah. Too much concern for the profitability of insurance companies went into the ACA. That’s pretty odd considering Obama is a Marxist/Socialist.
Seriously, I’m surprised at the focus on the if you like your insurance you can keep it line. In my experience, you only have insurance at the pleasure of the insurance company anyway — so I always heard that line with the additional caveat — “if your insurance company lets you”. I already know I’m one of the few people who think like this, but sheesh.
It is the insurance companies themselves who are to blame for terminating health insurance for those 5% who are in the individual market. Moreover, they are not informing these people of all the options they have, including the ACA options. Instead, they try to sell them much more expensive policies with early sign-up deadlines, thus competing unfairly against the ACA offerings.
Unfortunately, considering the Congress Obama had at the time, with blue dogs and filibusterers, neither single-payer nor the public option were possible. It’s a miracle that we even got the ACA, which is much better than nothing, hopefully, hopefully because we have yet to demonstrate that this model will work, given that it requires a significant number of younger healthier people to enroll.
Once again I marvel at the democrats inability to message and spread what I as a progressive know and understand. And then when I ask myself why aren’t they out there trumpeting the message that should resonate, I resign to understanding once again that they don’t represent me and represent their donors.
They could easily sell the good points and swat away the BS. They aren’t dumb people. They are gifted at gab, and yet a simple point to be made over and over and over like a Republican can make (see Benghazi) they are unable to do.
I hate them all
Speaking of outrage, where was the conservative outrage against the media when CBS ran a false story on Benghazi. I never hear complaints about the so-called liberal media when stories go their way.
About 5,000 Delawareans will be dropped from Hymark BCBS/DE- What Next? How are insurance companies able to drop customers to buy insurance on the local market? How does the Healthcare law allow for this provision? Where can people go to get an appointment w/ a Health Navigator or an Insurance Broker? What a Mess!!
Well, you can go HERE Click on Need Help? and you’ll get a list of contact numbers. Also, Highmark is part of the exchange.
No, Highmark is MOST of the exchange, as it is most of the exchange in PA and ALL of the exchange in DE. Yes, there are both Highmark and Conventry in the exchange (Coventry being represented by two shell entities), but if you look at the purchasing patterns, Highmark accounts for probably 60-70% of the policies people will actually choose to purchase.
And just for perspective, Highmark is not only dumping 5,300 DE health insurance policies, they have already dumped (about four weeks ago) 37,000 cancer patients, and in PA have begun tightening the screws of the policies they hold with regard to where you can get your cancer treatments and how many they will pay for.
Meanwhile, parent company Highmark has just spun off Highmark Business Solutions, which specializes in the outsource contracting of claim-handling for other insurance companies. Highmark already holds the contract for Medicare claims processing in Delaware, and provides three of the six most-subscribed private dental insurance plans. Plus one of the vision plans.
Not bad for what a Federal judge recently characterized as a “so-called” non-profit that turned an “incidental” $1.2 billion profit last year. We don’t really need the Kowalko-Jaques single-payer bill in Delaware. Within a year or so we will have single-payer in Delaware–it will just be Highmark and not the State.
Has anyone heard a word from the insurance commissioner’s office since Obamacare opened? At the least, we ought to use this situation to illustrate the incompetence of Karen Weldin-Stewart.
My wife is shopping the Delaware exchange for insurance. After three weeks of not being able to get onto the web site, which moves you to the fed. site for enrollment, she gave up and went to the 800 #. There she completed the application, but has now waited over two weeks for the return phone call from the agent with hard costs; checked in two days ago to be told…..still working on it. She’s patient but I’m kinda pissed.
I just read that by Nov. 6, over a month since the Delaware Exchange was launched, a whopping four people have signed up, ie: bought policies. My wife is ready to buy but where the hell is the returned call/email she was supposed to get, now waiting three weeks since reverting to the #800 contact after failing for three weeks to get into the web site?
Wrote our complaint to the Insurance Commissioner about lack of response from the Exchange after the application process; got an email back within hours to contact an office staffer, which is good and encouraging. Also, a phone call from Blue Cross, which is my wife’s preferred choice, with an offer for help from a sales agent. At least we’re getting responses !
On a lighter note don’t rule out a Benghazi Comeback when the Obamacare game peters out.