Blue Cross to doctors: Please squeal on your patients. Thanks. Hugs and kisses, Blue Cross

[Lobster Martini]

(LM: Why does this remind me of Operation TIPS? And should anything involving doctors remind me of Operation TIPS? Probably not.

This is from the Associated Press via 6abc.com—link: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=5952361)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - February 12, 2008 -- Citing an effort to hold down costs, health insurance giant Blue Cross wants doctors in California to report conditions it could use to cancel new patients' medical coverage, it was reported Tuesday.

The state's largest for-profit health insurer is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose "material medical history," the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site.

<snip>

WellPoint Inc., the Indianapolis-based company that operates Blue Cross of California, said it was sending out the letters in an effort to keep costs at a minimum.

<snip>

"We're outraged that they are asking doctors to violate the sacred trust of patients to rat them out for medical information that patients would expect their doctors to handle with the utmost secrecy and confidentiality," said Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the California Medical Association.

<snip>

Lynne Randolph, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Managed Health Care, said the agency would review the letter.

<snip>

"They are playing a game of 'gotcha' where they are trying to use their doctors against their patients' health interests," said Anthony Wright, executive director of HealthAccess California, a healthcare advocacy organization. "That's about as ugly as it gets."

(LM: Gratuitous comment removed as the DUer who pointed out that it was unnecessary was probably right.)

[LSparkle]

1. Isn't there a "doctor-patient privilege" (like "attorney-client")?

I've heard that psychiatrists/psychologists aren't forced to divulge things told them in sessions -- why should a doctor have to tell anyone (much less an insurance company) anything that's told to him in confidence by a patient?

[cbayer]

14. Actually it's more than a privilege.

Doctor-patient confidentiality is a federal mandate. And this flies in the face of HIPAA.

[Lobster Martini]

15. Squealing is "voluntary" -- which is even worse

Theoretically...but squealing is voluntary, not compelled, which makes you wonder about money, incentives (real or perceived) and the morals of doctors that willingly fork over personal information that their patients assumed was confidential.

Beautiful health care system, ain't it?

[cbayer]

20. Again, doctors can go to jail for divulging confidential information.

And what this article says is that doctors are going to fight against this request. It says nowhere that they are complying with this.

[nashville_brook]

21. damn good point -- i'm SURE they've incentivized this.

[cbayer]

25. You are SURE? Please provide some evidence.

[cutlassmama]

16. If their records are subpeoned everything comes out. Also, if a crime

has been committed or injury to someone is going on they are "required" by law to report it.

[cbayer]

18. Not exactly

You are required to "protect" someone who may be in danger because of information given to you by a patient (e.g. threats to kill someone, intentionally exposing someone to AIDS), but you are not allowed, by law, to reveal other information. And even in trials, patients must give permission for their records to be used in open court.

[cutlassmama]

47. that's not what my doctors have told me. Perhaps it varies in

different states.

[knitter4democracy]

39. Yes, there is, and it's serious.

Hubby will not tell me about his patients except in super general terms. He will not even confirm or deny someone's a patient of his, even if that person tells me herself unless that person tells Hubby it's okay to confirm it, but he'd never actually tell me anything.

If he won't tell me, I can guarandamntee he wouldn't tell anything to the insurance company. He hates them.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. I swear, there's nothing those vultures won't do to save up for their

executive's bonuses...

[Jim__]

3. We need insurance companies to get the hell out of the medical system.

Stuff like this:

Blue Cross is one of several California insurers that have been criticized for issuing policies without checking applications and then canceling coverage after individuals incur major medical costs. The practice of canceling coverage is under scrutiny by state regulators, lawmakers and the courts.

cannot fly in any health care system that works toward the health of the patients.

[Zodiak]

23. I worked for them (Blue Cross of Kansas in Topeka)

Fucking scum of the Earth...I quit after a few months. They hired me because I was a "people person who cares"...which basically means they thought I would candy coat shit for them. I refused to do it...told the doctors how to fill out their claims to ensure they get paid and told insureds how to make sure their claim was approved. The management hated me for it, and came to me practically every morning to try to explain to me how I am supposed to be an asshole in this business.

I watched them destroy lives with arbitrary denials and cancellations. Want a good argument for socialized medicine? Watch how health insurance is handled from the inside.

[WillowTree]

38. You didn't "work for them".

Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas is one of the independent Blues, a mutual company, neither for-profit nor non-profit, and is owned by it's policyholders.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield of California is a for-profit Blue and is owned by Wellpoint, parent company of UniCare. They truly are scum, in more ways than most people will ever know.

[Zodiak]

44. Then I hesitate to think what California is going through

Because what I saw in Kansas disgusted me beyond belief.

[truedelphi]

45. You know one of the arguments for the notion that

Many of us could be put way in camps is that when a bureaucrat denies someone health care, it can be a death sentence.
Thanks for standing up to these rat bastards.

[Withywindle]

4. A friend of mine was turned down by Blue Cross Blue Shield recently

after she applied for individual coverage after getting laid off. They wouldn't say why.

Her therapist told her too late, "Oh shit, you didn't tell them you were in therapy, did you? They turn people down for that."

Now, mind you, my friend's problems that she sees a therapist for aren't particularly severe. She's not on prescription meds, and she doesn't even USE insurance to pay for her therapist. But just the fact that she's seeing one....

[nashville_brook]

7. so, being responsible and (lets say) managing stress with talk therapy

will get you shitcanned. niiiiiiice.

[Withywindle]

31. Yup.

She has depression and anxiety. (And, y'know, like being suddenly unemployed is SO HELPFUL for those conditions :sarcasm:). She does find the therapy helpful.

She and I have similar mental health issues, we talk about this all the time. A lot of our anxiety and self-esteem problems revolve around money and work. So there you go - lose your job and your money-related anxiety skyrockets at the same time you lose the ability to pay for all those small things that help just a little bit.

Edited because my browser remembered an old header from a long-ago post that had nothing to with this subject.

[JeanGrey]

8. She can apply for COBRA and they cannot turn her down,

if she was laid off and had it at work.

[SoCalDem]

13. True, BUT can she AFFORD COBRA?

COBRA is an empty promise for most laid off people, since once they lose their income, they have no ability to pay for it..

[JeanGrey]

32. Well, that is true, it is expensive, but you mentioned that she

was getting a private policy and they aren't cheap either.

Aaarrrrgh!!! Will we EVER get National Health Care. I can hardly wait to be garnisheed for what I can't afford...................

Have her at least check how much it would cost for just her. And she doesn't have long to do it either.

[knitter4democracy]

40. They can't turn people away in Michigan.

We put it in the law that governs BC/BS here.

[nashville_brook]

5. there oughta be a law that makes this illegal -- oh, i forgot, insurance co's FUND congresscritters

guess that'll never happen.

[cbayer]

22. There is a law. It's called HIPAA and the penalties are extreme. nt.

[JeanGrey]

33. There is no HIPAA. Just get a serious illness and stand back

and watch how much of your info is floating around through computers. While I was waiting on my transplant some idiot put in my medical file I had Hep C (I don't) and for six months people treated me like tyhoid Mary. I finally found out when someone told me. Aaaaarrgh.

[knitter4democracy]

41. The law has loopholes for insurance companies.

Doctors couldn't tell anyone else, but insurance companies get all the info they ask for.

[AikidoSoul]

6. Disgusting. It's similar to the new INFRAGARD program set up to rat on

citizens who "threaten" the infrastructure.

:sarcasm: We all know that corporations are the infrastructure that's most worth defending :sarcasm:

[SoCalDem]

9. This is why many people do not even go to the doctor

Once something is diagnosed it's "on your permanent record"..like in grade school..

This information could prevent them from getting insurance down the road, or might disqualify them for a job they HAVE to have to even GET insurance..

It's a vicious circle

[cbayer]

10. Dr. R. Frankenstein is a really great man.

So I request that you not ridicule him for his name.

[Lobster Martini]

17. No disrespect intended.

[MindPilot]

24. Medical school must've been pure hell for him.

I would hope he has good sense of humor. :D

[cbayer]

26. He has a great sense of humor and has achieved much against many odds. nt.

[TahitiNut]

28. He probably aced Gross Anatomy, though.

Those cadavers had to be child's play ... particularly Abby Normal.

[knitter4democracy]

42. We have a Dr. Frankenstein in the area.

Makes me giggle. That, and the local cardiologist Dr. Doctor.

[Botany]

11. Dear Blue Cross .... F*** You.

"The state's largest for-profit health insurer ..."

And how much is the company paying in "political contributions?" And to who

.35 of every $1.00 spent on health care in America goes to help pay these
blood suckers.

[grasswire]

12. Is wellpoint connected to choicepoint?

Just askin'. Sounds like the information age will bring us millions of deaths from the coordination of records.

What is the point of insurance if there is no risk to the insurer? For what are these billions of dollars paid?

[fed-up]

19. BCBS has the contract for our county version of medi-cal-guess they are keeping all the files

in case a recipient is able to ever purchase health insurance on their own.

Too late for me as BCBS already turned me down 9 years ago because of an error in my chart that was later corrected.


SINGLE PAYER UNIVERSAL health care should be the ONLY option the dem nominees talk about

[AngryOldDem]

27. This is equally troubling....

...my employer recently changed insurance companies, and apparently the new company sends reports to the management about ER and urgent care visits monthly, supposedly to track "abuses," and what not. (I guess they have their own definition of the word "abuse.")

This may have always been the case with insurers, I don't know. But the other night, a co-worker wrenched his back early on during his shift. He thought nothing of it; he had just turned "funny" in a certain direction, and went on with his work. By the end of the night, however, he was crippled -- doubled-over in pain, could barely walk. As bad as he was feeling, what was his main point of concern? Going to the ER to get it checked out because HE WAS AFRAID HE'D GET IN TROUBLE WITH MANAGEMENT...he was afraid they would **not** see his back problem as a true emergency. He called around to different urgent cares but they were all closed, so he had no choice but to go to the hospital. Even then it took a couple of us to tell him point-blank that ANY back injury is nothing to mess with, especially if you're in such pain that you're virtually immobilized.

He was off for most of the week from the meds they gave him to treat his back pain.

How sad is it when you worry more about what your employer and insurer might think, rather than about your own well-being?

[plantwomyn]

29. They have to cut costs to stay afloat.

"Mar. 3--A record fourth-quarter for Blue Cross pushed the company's 2006 profit to $189 million as the insurer continued its string of record results.

It was the nonprofit insurer's vast investment portfolio -- not its insurance business -- that helped push last year's results 13 percent higher than in 2005 when Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina reported a year-end profit of $167.6 million.

While the company has delivered profits of more than $150 million for four straight years, Blue Cross officials note that its profit ratio -- its profit as a percentage of total revenue -- has dropped for three straight years."



:sarcasm:

[cbayer]

30. Thank you for removing gratuitous comment. Love that you brought this info to us. nt.

[Skittles]

34. this kind of crap would encourage people to lie to their doctors

it is INSANE - another reason why healthcare for profit needs to stop

[EvolveOrConvolve]

35. The most telling aspect: "for-profit health insurer"

Corporations are designed to make money, not to protect the health of it's clients.

Fuck you Blue Cross: my wife and I and our 1 child got our new rates for insurance and they've increased our rates by 35% even though we're perfectly healthy and we didn't visit the doctor even once (except for my wife's annual pappy smear).

Again, Fuck you Blue Cross.

[Cobalt Violet]

36. I agree with Dr. Frankenstein.

Insurance companies greed knows no limit.

[Hekate]

37. That got our blood pressure up at the breakfast table this morning, I can tell you

I had to restrain myself. Mr H gets upset if I set the newspaper on fire. (that's supposed to be a joke, for the humor-impaired)

Edited to add -- Yes, Blue Cross is our so-called health provider. We pay them a lot of money for their "care."

Hekate

[lonestarnot]

43. BCBS is trying to screw the pooch alright. This is not their only method.

Apparently so is American Family. State Farm already did.

[Eurobabe]

46. This is so digusting and unbelievable

but not surprising.