California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones may have just assured Blue Shield its place as the worst health insurance company in America. He's gotten every other health insurance company in California to hold off on rate increases.
A black sheep among black sheep is how Blue Shield and its CEO Bruce Bodaken will be remembered if they don't budge from their pledge to raise rates as much as 59 percent on some Californians on March 1. The drama playing out in California is being watched on the national stage. With consumers ready to turn their pitchforks on Blue Shield, the recalcitrant insurer could become the unwitting hero of a movement to further regulation and restore the public option to the private market in California and states across America.
When Anthem Blue Cross tried to raise rates as much as 39 percent on Californians last year, the outrage gave President Obama the ammunition to pass federal health reform, even though the bill did nothing to stop rate increases. Now Blue Shield is giving California reformers the ammo to go to the legislature and the ballot box for proposals that give regulators the power to say no to premium increases and to create a public insurance option in California. What starts here will spread.
Only Blue Shield could make Anthem Blue Cross look like a patriot.
Here's what Insurance Commissioner Jones had to say:
I am pleased that Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and PacifiCare have agreed to my request that they halt the implementation of their rate increases until the Department of Insurance has adequate time to review their recent rate filings. I am very concerned about the impact premium increases will have on policyholders, so I want to ensure that the Department has adequate time to review these rate filings for compliance with the law. Blue Shield policyholders will not have the benefit of this additional review period to ensure compliance with the law, but I will do what is within my power to determine whether Blue Shield’s proposed rates are in compliance with the law and to enforce that law.
The question for Blue Shield is what does it have to hide? Apparently a lot.
That's why Consumer Watchdog called last week for disclosure about how much Blue Shield CEO Bruce Bodaken makes, why Blue Shield is keeping 12 times the required amount of surplus, and supporting evidence for its claims that medical costs are going through the roof. Every other health insurance company discloses its CEO's salary. Apparently Blue Shield is a strong believer in its exceptionalism.
Where there is smoke there is usually fire. Blue Shield is becoming the poster child for everything we hate about health insurance companies. It better rethink it's positions and give its customers a break or it may find that its arrogance will be its downfall.
If you are angry, you can join me, betrayed Blue Shield patients and the California Nurses Association leaders at Blue Shield headquarters in San Fransisco next Tuesday for a good old fashioned pitchfork protest.
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Blue Shield San Francisco HQ, 50 Beale St.
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Jamie Court is president of Consumer Watchdog and author of The Progressive's Guide To Raising Hell.
Follow Jamie Court on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RaisingHellNow
People need health insurance they can afford now, not four years from now. Long term unemployed, recently unemployed, employed with no benefits, part time employed, self-employed, full time caregivers. The ranks are growing like a virus. Those who have benefits from their employer (for how long) can't afford it either and employers can't afford it and lay off people. Time to end the misery and the nonsense.
Can California or other states pass single payer right now? Is it possible? There is no time to wait for BShield or politcians. The majority of people want this now.
And it isn't free market. You are a slave paying into your plan in the best health tier in an individual policy forever. If you wish to go to another company, you can be perfectly healthy and still have been treated or consulted for anything that puts you in a higher health tier with another company even with a higher deductible. You are stuck and have to pay whatever they want forever. Paying doctors directly instead of monthly premiums would save many healthy people thousands per year. What is wrong with that picture?
Classic.
I read your excellent book, "The Progressive's Guide to Raising Hell." It is a great read and a very useful tool. learned a lot from it. Thanks for inspiring us and for constantly fighting the "good fight" for those who are unable to fight.
One thing I believe ALL corporations, Wall-Street Elite, Politicians, and Lobbyists all need to keep in the forefront of their minds is what is happening today in Egypt. Sooner or later the people will get fed up. Let states blow their pension contracts, and see what happens.
In my daughters college textbook it said the most natural form of political participation, is uprising and unrest. I love my country, but am ashamed at many things at the same time. And I worry, for my children, and grandchild, that the uprising and unrest is not too far away. I wish peace would prevail, but when you read articles like this, and know that the bulk of those in DC support these companies, you can't help but wonder.....Sooner or later the people have to count.
Their greed is a type of bloodlust that inflames their senses and they lose what little common sense they ever had.
If the state of California creates a state-run single-payer insurance company, it will be the beginning of the end of for-profit insurance companies.
1) It will cost more money.
2) No private insurance company will bother ,because the actuarials the state offers and their own experts present will be so different
3)In case you hadn't noticed,California was reduced to issuing scrip last year (it didn't work). They'll have to do this again. (it still won't work.)
Smart People will leave California even more rapidly.
5) In terms of measurable effects,the average IQ of the state will fall,and the Democrat majority will increase.
6) Things will get worse.
Let's watch!
Given a choice, YOU can continue to over pay for healthcare administration costs if you are happy with your health administration costs and others who are tired of over paying for health administration costs can give a public OPTION a try.
If government run health care administration like medicare is so bad, why are all the insurance companies advertising to select them for managing it? There's money to be made in managing health care administration and they can not get at it if you use government run Medicare.
I agree, put forth the option and let's watch.
- Every public health system in the world is a MINIMUM of HALF the cost of the US system.
- The VA and Medicare have less than 5% overhead. That is, 95% of the money goes to patients. BUT ... with private health care, as much as 40% goes to overhead and profit.
- You are already paying, via taxes and excessive premiums, for the dysfunctional US health care system that costs over twice as much per capita as any other health care system on earth.
Public option in direct competition would be great because it would quickly drive the private health care into bankruptcy.
The bill was passed in the legislature twice as SB810, but Schwarzenegger vetoed it both times. Hopefully Jerry Brown will pass it.
If it is true that competition and private company "innovation" is "better" than public services, this will dramatically prove or more likely disprove this.
Sure, the CA health care company would be able to draw on cheap state funding sources and would not have to make a profit, but supposedly if you listen to the people against Medicare and the VA, this shouldn't matter because for-profit companies are soooo much more efficient.
I suspect what would actually happen is the CA health care insurance system would be able to provide service equal to (or better to) the private companies for close to Meidcare rates if not close to non-US rates, driving the private health care companies into bankruptcy due to lack of profits.
I think it is time for all those that think private is so much better to put their beliefs to the test. lets see if the for (huge) profit health care can actually provide excellent service for lower costs than a public health care system (Medicare and VA have already shown NO, but lets give people a choice and see if they really want private health care versus public).
When you say,"I suspect",can you tell me why your expertise leads to this? Some of us who are , um ...doctors are curious.
The CA universities may be somewhat bloated, but then again so are private universities.
As for the VA, the financial data is readily available as well as the analysis that it is more cost effective than Medicare, which are both much more effective than private companies . Both are still more expensive than non-US health care systems. The VA and Medicare systems both get high marks from their users.
That is why the older Tea Party folks are so adamant that the US government keep its hands off their Medicare.
Isn't it time we realized the health insurance companies are really just a big old scam? People are dying, right here and now, in our country because they can't afford to seek medical help. While our politicians have the best FREE FOR THEM medical coverage in the country that our tax money can buy - which also covers their families and their gov't workers/aides - they have no interest or desire to get medical coverage for the rest of the country. Afterall, they got theirs. To heck with us.
How is it causing tax hikes?
I don't know if you ever saw "The Underwear Troll" episode on the Simpsons.
"The Underwear Trolls" are responsible for misssng underwear. The business model is :
Step 1 Steal underwear
Step 3.Make lots of money. It's a little unclear on the link between steps 1 and 3.So,...if you could?
SIncerely yours
Corwin.A guy with a really high Iq who tries to help