Blue Cross stops controversial letter

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Facing a torrent of criticism Tuesday, Blue Cross of California abruptly halted its practice of asking physicians in a letter to look for medical conditions that could be used to cancel patients' insurance coverage.

In a statement issued about 6 p.m., the state's largest for-profit insurer said, "Today we reached out to our provider partners and California regulators and determined this letter is no longer necessary and, in fact, was creating a misimpression and causing some members and providers undue concern.

"As a result, we are discontinuing the dissemination of this letter going forward."

The announcement came after blistering rebukes Tuesday by physicians, patients, privacy experts and officials including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., after the Los Angeles Times disclosed the practice.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/lifeandstyleheadlines/ci_8247947

[kurth]

1. These assholes deserve a special place in hell

We need universal heath care ASAP.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. Before I had to give up my Blue Cross coverage...

...I remember getting letters from Blue Cross informing me of the "necessary increase" in my monthly fee due to "rising healthcare costs."

It was invariably followed by news items detailing how Blue Cross had just posted "record profits" for the current quarter.

[kurth]

5. Fucking pigs are worse than the oil companies

Their price gouging and cruel tactics actually KILL their customers.

[Zorra]

14. Yeah....even the mob would think twice about killing granma. n/t

[Cronopio]

26. "Please help us to help you kill your patients. We sincerely thank you for your support." nt

[damntexdem]

36. Single-payer universal coverage.

And we need it ... decades ago.

[Dr.Phool]

2. "Aw jeez, guys, we were just curious".

We didn't mean nothin' by it.

Pass HR676. Throw these bastards out of business.

[xchrom]

4. ...

:mad:

[Auggie]

6. And they stop it only after it becomes front-page news

I just had surgery and am sweating out what's going to covered.

[DeeDeeNY]

7. "Misimpression"? They don't even lie well.

This practice was mentioned in Sicko.

[primavera]

19. By which they mean allowing the truth to slip out

Yeah, that one cracked me up too. Misimpression, my ass.

[mikeytherat]

8. "We're sorry if anyone was offended by our attempt to drop their coverage.

If we had realized sooner that we'd be caught with our nuts in a vice (and be exposed for the dollar-grubbing assholes we are), we would have adopted a different approach."

mikey_the_rat

[madmom]

9. Here's another reason to hate insurance company's...my SO is having a bit of

a rough go at getting his BP regulated, thought we finally got it with a combination of meds, so the insurance company decided they can't pay for that cuz it costs to much!this is after he's been taking it a few months.Wonder what kind of health care insurance their employees have?

WE NEED UNIVERSAL HEATH CARE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sweetpotato]

37. re: BC employee health care

>>>Wonder what kind of health care insurance their employees have?<<<

I can't speak for all Blue Cross employees, but I can tell you that my DH was recruited to work for them in IT. He had several interviews, and ultimately did not take the position. One of the extra expenses of him taking that job, would have been to add him to my state employee health care, because Blue Cross was only offering him an HMO. The state employee insurance is better, not the best, but better than what they were offering him to come work for them.

I told him I didn't want him to work there as I was politically opposed. I'm real glad he didn't accept it. Their in house recruiter got very abusive on the telephone when my DH declined their offer. After that call, he was REAL glad he didn't take it.

[ikojo]

40. I work for a health insurance company and

believe me when I say that my coverage is not all that great. Most of the groups that are covered by the company I work for have better coverage than we employees. Just for the HMO I pay almost $40 a check for it and I'm single. Of course if I took the HSA (health savings account) it would be much less but then I'd have a lot more out of pocket costs. At least with the HMO I know up front what my copays are.

[gratuitous]

10. Look at that gobbledygook statement

Tell me what this is supposed to mean:

In a statement issued about 6 p.m., the state's largest for-profit insurer said, "Today we reached out to our provider partners and California regulators and determined this letter is no longer necessary and, in fact, was creating a misimpression and causing some members and providers undue concern.

"As a result, we are discontinuing the dissemination of this letter going forward."

The only way I can read this is "Jeez, we didn't think quite so many people would notice. Okay, if you're going to get snitty about it, we won't do it. For now."

[mikeytherat]

12. See my response, #8. I translated the above into English.

mikey_the_rat

[Missy Vixen]

20. Here's my translation

"Aw, shit, we got caught with our hands in the cookie jar. Our bad."

or,

"We'll try this again when nobody's looking."

Julie

[Cronopio]

27. "The naive fool we put in charge of this fiasco has been duly demoted."

"He promises to perform better next time."

[calimary]

33. Aw, aren't you impressed? They said they "reached out" today.

How appealing! How utterly sympathetic! How pro-active of them! Poor altruistic, financially-strapped, generous, horribly exploited darlings!

:sarcasm:

[gratuitous]

38. And they're so very concerned

About our concern - which they hasten to inform us is "undue." Princes among men, they are.

[Javaman]

11. Yeah, they have stopped the practice and will now call the docs in person. nt

[raccoon]

13. Blue Cross sucks. I worked for the Blue Cross in my state for less than a year,

and it seemed like a hell of a lot longer.

After I left, I heard a man who was working there on contract went postal and killed his roommate, roommate's wife, and roommate's dog. I have to say it didn't surprise me.

[Cronopio]

24. You mean he wasn't paid enough to screw over people he didn't know for a living?

Scruples and empathy, they're just so inconvenient sometimes.

[Highway61]

15. So....

will they reinstate those who were dropped BEFORE they got caught under the radar screen?? Bastards, every one of them.

[Mika]

16. See? Let free market solutions rule. USA #1 USA #1 USA #1 USA #1 USA #1.

:sarcasm:

[LiberalFighter]

17. For Profit - For Profit - For Profit -- Who would had guessed

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

18. I watched "Kill Bill" again, the other night.

There is a scene where Uma Thurman's character, "The Bride" slams Buck's head in a door many times.

A suitable fate, methinks, for health insurance executives who make these sorts of decisions.

And if not their heads, I can suggest other body parts suitable for this treatment.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

39. GREAT CHOICE.

but we should limit that treatment to the top VPs and presidents. Perhaps include the entire board of directors, as well.

[Orsino]

21. And which two candidates want to sign us over to these scum?

Jesus.

[Cronopio]

22. No, they don't want to give people the wrong impression - i.e., the truth.

They want people to have the "right" impression - that the U.S. healthcare system cares about their health as much or more than it does quarterly profits.

The black, empty soul of hypermercenarycapitalism briefly shows itself again. The U.S. healthcare system is a disease.

[salin]

23. The power of the light of day still can sometimes make the cockroaches

go scramble to climb back under the rocks.

[Lars39]

25. And the person, who is *not* named, is going to be fired, right?

Didn't think so. I think we ought to start demanding the names of the people who OK this sort of policy. They need to be shamed at the very least.

[IsItJustMe]

28. Just wondering how many people have died because of these practices. Never hear about those folks.

That is exactly why we needed someone like John Edwards to take the steering wheel.

[mulsh]

29. CA Managed Medical Care Board

is investigating this letter. Hope this doesn't cause the Med Board to rescind the investigation. they've fined CA Blue Cross before.

[Vinca]

30. The letter is gone, but the practice is still there. nt

[Yavapai]

31. These are the same bastards who just raised my premiums by more than 30% !!!

What will they want next year, premiums to be paid only in Euros?

I am stuck with them because of my ex-employer that I retired from.

We need to have our next president take insurance companies completely out of the
health business. We should make this the number one priority and start inundating
the white house, and congress with letters one hour after the inauguration is finished.

After figuring my taxes this year, I found that health care premiums and prescriptions
made up 26% of my gross income in 2007. If you include home owners and auto
insurance, that is by far our largest expense.

I heard that when they were testing the new drug Viagra, they gave it to the entire
blue cross/blue shield board of directors. The only effects detected was a noticeable
improvement in their posture!:mad:

[redqueen]

32. "was creating a misimpression and causing some members and providers undue concern"

oooh the nerve!

[DCKit]

34. The best argument for single-payer yet: Blue Cross

Will they change their symbol to a swastika once they've won? It's kind of offensive for them to be using the cross as their logo.

[damntexdem]

35. Ah, those wonderful health insurance companies!

And they have to really up their profits this year, so they can pour money into anti-healthcare-reform campaigns next year after Dem victories in November. ;-)

Can you say "Harry and Louise"?

[OhioChick]

41. Bastards.

K&R
:kick: