Urgency of public option: BC/BS sued for engaging in "life threatening business practices"

[kpete]

Lest we forget what this fight is all about . . .

Let's take a look at the newest crime of Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield now terrorizing the people of New Jersey.

I urge everyone to read the Bayonne complaint filed in the U.S, District Court in Newark, New Jersey. It is a litany of very familiar insurance industry crimes. It is a frightening journey through our uniquely American house of horrors.

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http://www.bayonnemedicalcenter.org/BHCNews/Bayonne-Complaint(full).pdf

PRESS RELEASE

Bayonne Hospital Center and Hospital Patient File Federal Lawsuit to Protect Bayonne, New Jersey Residents From Life-Threatening Business Practices of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ

Suit Charges Horizon with Systematic Attack on Emergency Care in Quest for Profit

BAYONNE, NJ, JULY 22, 2009—Bayonne Hospital Center (BHC)—the only hospital in the medically underserved working class community of Bayonne, NJ—today announced it has filed a federal lawsuit against Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon), the largest provider of health insurance in the state. The lawsuit was filed in an effort to halt Horizon’s illegal, fraudulent, egregious and unethical business practices which are endangering the lives of the citizens of New Jersey and threatening Bayonne Hospital Center’s financial viability, all in the name of boosting its own bottom line and prospects for an initial public offering.

Horizon’s practices and activities include, among other things: a systematic campaign of intimidating patients into abandoning emergency care at BHC that is already underway, including calls to patients and the sending of couriers to instruct patients to leave the hospital while still in the midst of emergency treatment; egregious and arbitrary denials of coverage and claims for emergency care at BHC; and constant efforts to under-compensate the only emergency care option in the Bayonne community, a hospital just rescued from bankruptcy.

The complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey provides a detailed account of Horizon’s business practices which run counter to the insurer’s contractual duties to its customers, its obligations under state law and its stated commitment to the interest of public health. Some of the most offensive Horizon practices detailed in the complaint include:

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more:
http://www.bayonnemedicalcenter.org/BHCNews/Bayonne-Complaint(full).pdf
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/23/756690/-Urgency-of-public-option:-BC-BS-sued-for-engaging-in-life-threatening-business-practices

[AuntPatsy]

1. I have never heard of any insurance company going to such extremes, horrifying...

I have a feeling that this company is not the only one guilty of such practices, perhaps others simply go through the Dr's themselves...

[earthboundmisfit]

2. K&R - This story is a BIG deal and I hope it gets huge exposure

For sure, you know Horizon ain't the only ones engaging in this shameful behavior. :mad:

[dgibby]

3. Fowarded to Big Ed.

Wonder if any of these guys are being picked up by the police in the big sweep going on in NJ today. Wonder if there's any connection between them and the blackmarket body parts sale in NJ. This is ugly and could be getting a lot uglier.

[drm604]

4. This story NEEDS to get out.

including calls to patients and the sending of couriers to instruct patients to leave the hospital while still in the midst of emergency treatment

THIS will get people's attention if this story gets into the mainstream. I have never heard of such a thing. Sending couriers to instruct people to leave? :mad:

W. T. F.!

This increases my conviction that we need to ultimately do away with private health insurance.

We're supposed to be afraid of "government bureaucrats" making our health decisions? Personally, I'm much more concerned about insurance company bureaucrats who not only make my health decisions, but actually send their f'in goons to the damned hospital to enforce those decisions.

Think about what's going on here. If they believe that an emergency room visit is not needed then they can deny payment after the fact. So why are they going to such lengths to terminate the visits upfront? Could it be because they know that the visit is legitimate under law and they'll have to pay for it if it's not stopped?