Denial of Care Profits: $73 million for CIGNA’s retiring CEO

[IndianaGreen]

Denial of Care Profits: $73 million for CIGNA’s retiring CEO

By Donna Smith, National Nurses Movement
January 7, 2010

It’s hard for most of us to imagine a lifestyle supported by a $73 million retirement bonus. It’s even harder to imagine a whole nation’s healthcare controlled by those who have benefited so wildly from denying healthcare to those who need it.

But Cigna’s Edward Hanway knows well what it feels like to rest in the lap of luxury thanks to all those profits he helped secure as he led one of the nation’s for-profit insurance giants through some very successful times. And as we lumber toward a new piece of healthcare legislation with new promises of expanded health insurance coverage and mandate for both individuals and employers to purchase private health insurance plans, insurance companies will have even more control over our healthcare – and the denials of care that make companies like Cigna pay out such obscene bonuses.

According to CIGNA’s press releases, Hanway had served in leadership capacities with America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the Alliance for Health Reform. “He is an outspoken advocate at the national level for greater transparency regarding health care quality and cost information available to consumers and a strong proponent of national quality standards for health care providers. He is recognized as a leader in the effort to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of health care in the United States. Through the years, Hanway has been active in a wide range of issues and initiatives associated with health, education and international business.”
BEFORE you read further…National Nurses United, the new national union for RNs, is asking nurses and patients to demand Congress remove the mandates that would force Americans to purchase products from the CIGNA’s of the world. Call Rep. Pelosi (415-556-4862) and Sen. Reid (702-388-5020) and tell them to strip this bill of the CIGNA-mandates immediately!

Under Hanway’s leadership, Cigna also did what for-profit insurance companies do so very well to enhance the profits that become multi-million dollar bonuses. They denied care to thousands upon thousands of policyholders, and the company profits were protected.

But some of those denied care died as a result. Nataline Sarkisyan was but one. She was 17. She needed a new liver. Cigna said no until enough nurses and enough of the family’s friends and neighbors – and a few thousand concerned citizens – protested loudly enough to make some news coverage. Then Cigna reversed itself. Even in the face of Nataline’s impending death, Hanway did what he felt was best to do to minimize damage to Cigna – not to save a teenager’s life. The negative PR became a bit much. Wendell Potter, who worked as Cigna’s communications director at the time, has said since that he watched the whole mess unfold and was one of the people advising Cigna’s leadership to reverse the denial.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2010/january/denial-of-care-profits-73-million-for-cigna%E2%80%99s-retiring-ceo

[Skittles]

1. and now they want to mandate to pay more of their profits

:puke:

[JohnWxy]

6. I guess you missed the part about prohibiton of "denial of care" based on pre-existing condition

which is how they pull off denial of care. That's one of the first stipulations in ALL the HCR bills.

[azurnoir]

2. Hopefully ther is a special place in hell for Hanway or better yet

rebirth as a Kolkata beggar child

[Blue_Tires]

3. ttt

[jtrockville]

4. Hanway did exactly what he's supposed to do: turn a profit.

What boggles the mind, is why our health care delivery is based on a system whose purpose is to turn a profit.

[Igel]

5. How much is money committed since summer '08?

How much was deferred compensation expensed in previous years and presumably sequestered? How much is stock options and, if any is, what are the terms and how were they valued? How did they compute retirement/pension funding, it is a lump sum or assumed payments over a number of years? How much was awarded this year, how much was awarded by contract in previous years?

So many questions, so much asking that we generalize from a lack of information on the one hand and very specific, one-off information in the latter. Good rhetorical practice.

[JohnWxy]

7. i wonder if those denied care who died as a result would have prefered the Government to stay out of

their health "care"? H-M-M-M-M-M-M.

[happy_liberal]

8. K&R

How do people get to a point in life where they do not give a damn about their fellow human beings? How could anyone be so greedy and heartless?

[winyanstaz]

9. denying care is murder...if the patient dies and could have been saved.

I dont care what important company is doing it ...murder is murder.
If I had a patient in my care and I just decided for whatever reason I could come up with that I just wouldnt take care of them..and they died because of that...I would go to prison.
Why should the insurance companies be allowed to continue killing Americans who paid for insurance?