Health Insurer Enlisting Its Employees To Kill Reform

Free Speech Radio News :

This year's debate is different from the efforts in the 1990s to reform health care. This time, the health insurance industry says they support health reform. But their actions don't always match their public statements.

Read the whole story: Free Speech Radio News

Comments

[BBCup]

Corporate insurers will only support reform that translates in profits for them. Any industry that measures success in terms of life and death must go.

[MNmommy]

So, HealthNet joins UHC with these unscrupulous practices.

http://investor.health.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=70296&p=irol-irhome
http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/Main/Investors.aspx

[helonias]

Highest Paid HMO Executives 1996 Annual Compensation
Exclusive of Unexercised Stock Options
Stephen Wiggins, CEO, Oxford Health Plans, Inc. $29,061,599
Wilson Taylor, Chairman and CEO, CIGNA Corporation $11,568,410
David Snow, Executive Vice President, Oxford Health Plans, Inc. $10,403,451
Robert Smoler, Executive Vice President, Oxford Health Plans, Inc. $10,085,972
William Sullivan, President, Oxford Health Plans, Inc. $7,823,076
Joseph Sebastianelli, President, Aetna, Inc. $7,394,506
Michael Cardillo, Executive Vice President, Aetna, Inc. $7,069,969
Leonard Schaeffer, Chairman and CEO, WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. $7,010,698
George Jochum, President and CEO, Mid-Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. $6,526,065

Based on this, the next time you want to argue with your Primary Care doctor's front desk about a $5.00 co-pay, remember that he makes an average of $149,000.00 per year. On the other hand -- using United Healthcare as an example -- your insurance company paid their CEO -- one man -- $324,000,000 over a recent five year period.

If you are uninsured, try calling any one of these 23 CEOs and see if they will give you free insurance.

BTW: 10% of 14.9 billion is 1.4 billion. If basic insurance costs $8,000/year for a family then taking 10% from just these CEO salaries would insure 35,000 Americans a year for five years. That is a lot of people that can be helped just by 23 men. Looking at the companies as a whole that profit from health care, we can probably pay for every uninsured person in this country for decades to come.

[BBCup]

I wonder how many people died for their luxury yachts and their third and forth vacation homes.

[Prakosh]

What does the story mean, "don't always" have their actions even matched their rhetoric??

[maxfax]

This is a surprise? It's about greed, not about health, they'll do whatever it takes to keep feeding the monster.

[max hp]

**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­**********
..........­..........­.......... AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ..........­..........­..........
~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~
We, the people, want a Federal Government administered Public Option in whatever Health Insurance Reform bill you sign. Sir, it is what you asked for in your June 2, 2009 letter to Senators Edward Kennedy and Max Baucus. The following is a quote from that letter:

"I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive and keep insurance companies honest."

We agree with you completely and fully support your efforts to that end. At the same time, we all have to admit that Health Insurance Reform is only MEANINGFUL if:

There is a condition-free Public Option (No Co-operatives or Triggers)
Everybody is covered. (Everybody, without exception)
Coverage can't be denied based on "Pre-existing" conditions.
Strict Regulations are imposed on ALL insurance plans.

We understand the passing of Senator Kennedy has dealt a severe blow to Health Insurance Reform. We also recognize that there isn't enough support in Congress for your primary goals. But, we place our faith in you to do what is right for all the people. So let us move forward with what we can achieve today and hope for a better tomorrow.

... We truly appreciate your administration's tireless efforts on the many issues we are facing today ...

~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~ Good Luck and Thank You, Sir ~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~~~~~­~~~~~~

[IzzyCA]

Excellent!
Attend our March for Health Care and the public option on September 13!
Marches are being organized all over the country.
Info:
Facebook group: March for Healthcare
Wiki: http://healthcaremarch.pbworks.com/FrontPage#view=page
website: http://www.march4healthcare.com/

[sueinmn]

Sometimes I think the only way to battle the insurance companies is for EVERYONE to drop coverage- make notification that their will be NO MORE PREMIUMS paid in. If we could force ourselves into a government planif suddenly no one had any insurance!

[max hp]

Give the people a choice of Medicare if they want it and watch the people do the walking.

[Prakosh]

That was the first thing that was removed from the table in the current debate. It was never seen as a viable option even though it was the one way to save $350 Billion dollars a year in overhead on insurance companies. Single payer would save $350 Billion dollars a year. $350 Billion a year in medical costs. Enough to pay for most of the program. But it was taken off the table before the debate began. Gotta love those Democrats. They are so ingenious.

[DreaminBig]

Hear Hear. I agree completely. We need to answer them with the only thing they understand. What would happen if everyone opted out of health insurance? I have health insurance but, my out of pocket is so high that I haven't been to the doctor all year. Maybe I would actually save money by not buying into the "myth" of insurance coverage.

[Prakosh]

There are some new clinics where you pay a monthly fee of $59 to $89 per person and you can see a doctor as much as you want. No other charges. You still have to pay for your prescriptions and hospital stays etc but your basic medical and office type procedures are all covered. I don't know what the family charges are.

[MCobamaLOVE]

These insurance companies need to leave their pitchforks at home and do their work honestly. One time I broke my collar bone and my health insurance agency said that it wasn't covered and that I should just die, because that's what health insurance companies want us all to do. If they can kill every human on Earth then they won't have any work to do and they will get to sleep in every day... Those Bastards!

[hope61]

I'm willing to bet it's not just California folks. I live in another state and received virtually the same spiel, via employee newsletter, as a retiree of a "Blue" insurance company. All Blues are members of BCBSA (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association) which takes positions, formulates talking points, etc., and then filters to the various plans for dissemination. While the "update" on health care reform was not as virulent as Wellpoint's, the intent was. Yet they are a "not-for-profit", receiving tax breaks.

[kareemachan]

If they are non-profit, they should have lots of money to cover all their customers' needs, and not need to deny any, right? How much are their top guys getting as salaries, I wonder....

[kinnycut]

The insurance industry has done this every time health reform has been on the agenda throughout our history. It certainly is nice that many are now on to what these blood suckers are doing. They are the ones that always have pushed and lobbied against health reform. They are the ones financing the right wing campaigns to defeat health care reform, and I am sure if you looked closer you would find that they were in some way funding these nuts at the town halls. They are also all they way in the pockets of those members of Congress that will vote no on any health plan especially those with a public option, or trigger.This is not knew, and some of their tactics should be illegal especially whoring their employees to do their bidding. It is bad enough that they are able to con stupid people into thinking, working, and operating against their own best interests. There is nothing wrong with making sure everyone has medical coverage they can count on. This one piece of legislation will do more to give the average citizen piece of mind, and generations thereafter than any social program this country has passed in the last 100 years.

[QOTW]

Yes, CA .AG is being asked to investigate Wellpoint and United HealthCare for actively encouraging their employees to take part in anti-healthcare reform protesting. This on the back of United Health Care setting up a call center which directed their employees toward anti-healthcare reform protests and Wellpoint launching a web site encouraging their employees to contact Congress in opposition to healthcare reform. These practices are directly prohibited by CA Labor Codes and if the AG decides it's possible to pursue an investigation it could have some significant impact on the accountability of the health insurance industry's amoral lobbying efforts in the future.
Fingers crossed.

[sueinmn]

Hope so as lobbying is truely killing America. It has killed Capitolism (monopolies are not free markets)

[MicheleCA]

violation of labor laws.

[edwarvir]

This is against the law. Congress should get
ivolved now

[solarian]

time for a congressional investigation

[CTtransplant]

I'm getting more than a bit tired of our representatives in Congress who say they don't need to read the bill, they won't sign it regardless of what's in it, etc., etc., etc. These guys make me mad! They are in effect saying to the voters 'we will not do our job'!

We all have - or know of – health care horror stories...things that should not have been allowed to happen.

Well, Our elected officials in Congress receive health care mostly paid for by us tax payers, yet many are trying to make it impossible for us to have an affordable plan of our own :

While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.

Please sign these petitions - and by all means, spread the word! Thank you!
http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/keepthepledge?source=email&subsource=fwd
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4951/content.jsp?content_KEY=2793&tag=pod_auto-email1

[babyboomerorig]

The thing is, that if it were presented by a Republican President and Congress, they wouldn't read it either....they'd just get in lockstep and vote for it.

Kind of like voting in tax cuts for big business during a war....stu. pid

[sueinmn]

Could be cause for ethics charges or recalls vocally admitting they will refuse to read and vote. Clearly they refuse to do their jobs. Reason for dismissals. People just dont have the balls anymore to start recalls or file ethics. Alaskans did it, why arnt we? Iranians protested for freedom, why arnt we??

[CTtransplant]

Agree! We should!