The Health Insurance Industry Doesn't Deserve Our Trust

[Joanne98]

Farmers
often depend on off-the-farm jobs to provide health insurance, if that
wasn't an option they could generally not afford an individual plan.
Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in America - heavy
machinery, large animals, long hours in the sun, chemicals and that
always present independent streak, that keeps us from seeing the doctor
when we should. Still, we need insurance.



Most
jobs are cutting insurance benefits, if the jobs are still there.
Individual plans for farmers are expensive with high deductibles since
our work is dangerous. We probably have preexisting conditions and we
are nearing an average age of 58 years.



The
Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska notes that rural residents are
twice as likely to be uninsured as urban Americans while farmers and
ranchers are four times as likely to be "underinsured", covered by
insurance with reduced benefits and a high deductibles.



Montana
Senator Max Baucus says single payer health care "is off the table".
Who made him king? What are we, chopped liver, doesn't our opinion
count? A January CBS/New York Times poll showed 59% of respondents
favored a national health care plan. A February CNN poll showed 72%
favored a government controlled plan. Any issue with that much across-the-board support should be "on the table".




It
seems especially surprising that Baucus, from Montana, a rural state,
one that would benefit most from a single payer plan, is opposed to any
discussion. However if one looks at campaign contributions from the health insurance industry to Baucus, we see why he supports the status quo.



The
insurance companies, in hopes of killing single payer, say they are
willing to cover those with "preexisting conditions" provided
*everyone* buys their health insurance. The insurance companies
dream: every American with an insurance policy and private insurers
collecting premiums on another 49 million people. Of course they can
still deny payment of claims, they're good at that.



But
they say trust us, we will cut costs, as long as everyone buys a policy
from us; but, there will be no competition from a public option.



No
competition? Workers and farmers are expected to compete in the world
market but insurance companies are afraid to compete against a public
option?



Trust us? Trust insurance companies to care about our health over their profits?



According to the New England Journal of Medicine,
insurance companies own billions of dollars of tobacco industry stock.
Clearly, their motive is profit, not the best interest of the American
public.



While
health insurance companies downplay their tobacco investments as being
only a small percentage of their total investment portfolio, with
billions invested in tobacco, one wonders how much money do these guys
have, where did they get it and why won't they pay it to their policy
holders when they deserve it?



While New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigates industry wide rate manipulation in the health insurance industry, they say trust us. Trust an industry that employs an "army of claim deniers"
and administrative personnel whose numbers have grown 25 times faster
than the number of physicians in the US over the past 30 years?



They
expect us to believe they care about the health of the 49 million
uninsured Americans or the 53,000 that die yearly due to denied claims?



A
"public option" should be an option, just as public education,
transportation, and legal protection are available, but not required.



Some
of my neighbors, like many Americans, lack confidence in the
government's ability to administer a public health insurance plan. But
they are beginning to trust private insurance companies even less. So
to legislators who say the public option is off the table, think again,
there are 49 million uninsured and 25 million underinsured in America, we may lack health insurance but we can still vote.




http://www.foodandsocietyfellows.org/fellows.cfm?id=101905

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Health-Insurance-Indus-by-Jim-Goodman-090705-493.html

[NC_Nurse]

1. Our trust has been abused. We'd be stupid to continue to believe in a private

sector that has screwed us again and again...not just in the healthcare area either.
Why anyone would trust a bank or a mortgage broker these days I can't imagine.

The healthcare industry has proven itself to be every bit as ruthless and greedy as any other in this country. They are constantly being indicted for fraud, from pharma, to hospital systems, to insurance companies. They need reform and restructuring just as much as our financial companies.

It's time, quit stalling Congress, and give us REAL reform. Stop listening to empty promises from these hucksters.

[lk9550]

2. Agreed

Greedy pieces of shit.