Man Arrested For Asking Anthem Blue Cross/Shield About His Rate Increase

[yurbud]

Run time: 03:10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L8UvG5_M6c   Posted on YouTube: September 10, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: September 19, 2009 By DU Member: yurbud Views on DU: 2007

 
Why is Anthem using its resources to LOBBY AGAINST health care reform with a public health insurance option while at the same time increasing rates by 14.1%? Szakos, along with three other Virginia Organizing Project board members, went down to Anthem's offices in Richmond, VA to ask. He left in handcuffs.

Story is at http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/man-arrested-asking-anthem-blue-cross">Crooks & Liars.

[Fridays Child]

1. I wish I could say that this is unbelievable.

Unfortunately, it's entirely believable. :(

[truedelphi]

14. I was in this exact situation when one section of my husband's HMO

Said that his insurance policy was valid and enforceable, and that we should be in the building for a doctor's exam - which they paid for.

So we saw the doctor. Then we left that section of the building and went to have the lab tests that the doctor had requested. There, we were told that he was not insured. WHen I complained, not angrily, just in a common sense sort of way, they summoned security.

Luckily the security gurad who was called was a very gentle and soft spoken person and he let us go. But the HMO wanted to press charges, and have the police called.

[debbierlus]

2. Kick - it is just like when they called for more police at the Senate Finance Hearings

...when the doctors and nurses were demanding ONE representative of single payer to testify at the hearings.

That is just fucking disgusting.

[Deja Q]

3. Wow. Even offshored customer support is more helpful and less threatening.

[KansDem]

4. More and more it seems the police are there to protect and serve...

...the oligarchy.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, yurbud.

[autorank]

6. Here's why they're acting this way, imho.

You'd think that insurance companies would bend over backwards to accommodate customers and community
organizations. Their future is on the line right? Don't they want to look good, be on their best
behavior so there are NO incidents like this?

I've followed this closely and there's no apparent change in behavior on flexibility with approvals,
claims processing, or openness to dialog with citizen groups.

WHY?

Because they have what they want -- an insurance run program that will mandate more customers.
They will survive with or without a public option because the public option is so weakened now
it won't be the choice people thought it would be. It only applies to the uninsured and it's
already talked about as a regional program when needed.

They don't have to be pleasant or positive. In fact, they can be down right hostile to community
representatives, as in the case of Anthem Virginia. They don't have to process claims any quicker
or approve any more services.

WHY?

Because they won.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. Or, they are grabbing all the cash they can

while they still can.

[autorank]

15. Sewee generous!

[aquart]

10. They aren't winning. They are grasping and gasping.

The pools of people they are willing to insure are becoming smaller and smaller. PREGNANCY AS A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION???? You don't do that when you're winning. All ponzi schemes eventually fall apart. This one is getting there. Put any stress on our health insurance system...such as no pre-existing or no cancelling if you get sick......and these porkers will be bacon.

[autorank]

16. We're both right

They are gasping and have been for a while due to their merger and acquisition strategies and the
general bad practice of being in the business of leeching off of sick people.

At the same time, when I said "they won," I was referring this. Instead of single payer, which is
the only logical way to go to make health care affordable and available, we end up with a program
administered by the health insurance companies. When they're about to croak, they get the best
deal ever - they won't face real competition. They have a declining pool and wait until they
get those 45 million uninsured. That won't be palatable so they'll come back and require subsidies
from the government, i.e., us, to be able to provide for them. They won on that round, the survival
contest. I'll bet they win again when they say, "Oh, these people are too sick to insure. Give us
more tax breaks, etc. or we can't do it."

[aquart]

21. Okay, let's just nationalize them.

I like that word. "Nationalize."

[autorank]

23. Nice ring, sounds like a plan.

[yurbud]

12. I hope you're wrong. If Obama gets a public option that turns out to be a sham...

that will be as bad or worse for his presidency than no public option at all--and of course worse for the rest of us.

[autorank]

17. I'd like to be but unfortunately

I wrote this article the morning after the speech based on the speech text as delivered:

What Obama Actually Said About Health Reform, Sept. 13

The health care "exchange" that was part of Obama's campaign proposal is not available to those with insurance:

"But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don't have insurance." (Pres. Obama) Sept. 9

We're left to assume that "keeping the "insurance companies honest" is only a benefit saved for those citizens who are uninsured.

Snip

Even if everything worked perfectly for the uninsured, the president said, "This exchange will take effect in four years, which will give us time to do it right." If that's the criterion, do it right, it will take a lot longer than four more years before the uninsured benefit.

There were two parts to Obama's details in the speech. One was for those with insurance and the other for those without insurance. The exchange being available to only those without insurance four years from now means, if you've got it or if you sell it, there's no public option available to you or me.

Sucks doesn't it. I would have liked much more.

[yurbud]

18. shit!

[autorank]

20. Shit is right

I guy my insurance directly from a BC/BS plan, which by the way is not in my state.

When they say the full cost of employer insurance is $12,000 to $16,000 a year, the self
employed know what that mean. We pay it, in full. Employees of large o small companies
with benefits pay 15% to 25% a month but that's what it costs.

So what do we self employed do. From the speech I'm in the group "for those with insurance."
It was unmistakably clear that "those with insurance" have no public option. I can buy a plan
in my state under the new scheme since the pre existing condition language will be there. It
might be $150 or so less a month, might not. But there's no vehicle to drive those costs
down.

If I want a public option, I have to WAIT four years for the "exchange" and hope there's a public
option in my state. Then I have to drop my insurance so I'm in the group that gets a shot at a
public option, "those without insurance." That would be a tense few weeks.

I'm screwed. Hell, self employed people could buy a nice home for what we pay for health insurance.

I wrote about that too http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0908/S00191.htm Lot of good it did me;)
There was never a plan in place to deal with the 15 million of us.

[Me.]

13. I Understand That Sotomayor

is of the opinion that the 1880's ruling that gave corps citizenship rights was illegal and should be overturned. That would be a beginning of a remedy to so much of this nonsense, stripping their protections away.

[yurbud]

19. she'd need to convince one of the five cons to go along with her on that

or wait for one of them to be replaced.

[ejpoeta]

7. because they can... it's that simple. and as long as they can get away with it, they will do it.

[The River]

9. They Raised My Premium 56%

as of November. Being unemployed now I won't
be able to pay it.

[aquart]

11. Which means the increase got them nothing

Except another payout they don't have to make, but nothing is coming in. This is happening in more households than yours. Increasing rates in this economic climate, with every other business looking to cut prices, is another screech of panic. They're taking the money they can before they have to run for it. So many people are out of work and can't buy insurance, they're raising the rates on everyone still working. This is a system about to collapse.

[ScottLand]

22. I'm ashamed to see Americans treating other Americans

this way.