Blue Cross of California threatens to revoke the coverage

[cal04]

Blue Cross of California threatens to revoke the coverage of customers who miss a single payment.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/16/blue-cross-california-threatens/

One of the worst abuses of the private insurance industry is known as recission, where insurers decide to revoke the coverage of their customers for frivolous reasons. The Los Angeles Times reports today that one of the nation’s largest insurers, Blue Cross of California, has “notified policyholders” that their coverage could be “immediately dropped” if they miss even a single payment:

Amid a national debate on how to make the healthcare system friendlier and more accessible, and as millions of people grapple with the loss of jobs and homes, what does insurance heavyweight Blue Shield of California do? It decides to take a key benefit away.

The company has notified individual policyholders that their coverage could be immediately dropped if they miss a single payment — or so it seems. Blue Shield says in a letter to customers that they can reapply for insurance, but with potentially higher premiums and stricter conditions.

Thankfully, a California law that mandates minimum grace periods and a decision by the company that will allow for a 28-day grace period will keep Blue Cross from immediately dropping people from coverage, as their letter threatens. The LA Times goes on to note that the the company’s pronouncement comes “after last year’s announcement that Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross agreed to pay a total of $13 million in fines after cancelling the policies of more than 2,000 Californians after they became ill.”

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. I think the insurers will follow the same path as the credit card companies

and use the time before any real reform or regulation to purge and gorge as much as they possibly can. Of course, they are being assisted by reform that puts off things like banning prior condition exclusion for years and that slips back in stuff like lifetime caps.

[Auggie]

5. They just raised my premiums 60% a month

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. Yeppers!

Big Insurance has it all worked out just like the credit card industry did. The period of time given to implement these laws is not for consumers, it is so insurance companies can cull their customer lists and raise rates before the law becomes effective.

As an amusing aside, I received an email from Sen. Bayh about his heroic efforts to pass the Credit Card Reform Act of last year. I was multi-tasking at the time and opening snail mail while I read emails. As I read his email I was holding in my hand a credit card statement that informed me that my rate had just been jacked from 9% to 29.99%. I had to laugh to keep from crying.

[begin_within]

2. I got that letter in the mail, and it scared me.

I was within a few days of my payment deadline because I was looking around for a better deal. That letter scared me into making the payment immediately and putting off any possible switch to another company for another 3 months. I am still looking but now have a 3-month window to find a better deal. That letter was sent out as an official change to the policy but really was sent as a scare tactic.

[FiveGoodMen]

3. Hmm. What happens when you can't get insurance but there's a mandate?

Aside from war, the mandate may be the single most evil thing the US has done for over a century.

Fuck every single mother fucking person in any part of the world who supports that atrocity.

Fuck the evil ones that are bringing it to us.

We all know who they are.

[wilt the stilt]

4. it's not possible

Insurance companies are your friend. I am in a fight with Anthem right now.

[kirby]

7. A bit of hype isn't it?

There are enough abuses in the system without making ones up.

From the article, if someone did not pay their health care bill on time, Blue Cross gave them 43 days. They are reducing that to 28 days. So now '28 days == immediately dropped'?

[napi21]

8. They're already doing that in Pa. My cousin screwed up and

either didn't get the bill or it got tossed out in the junk mail. He had a transplant several years ago & would not be eligible for ins if he lost it. They got a letter after 5:00PM the day before Thanksgiving that gave them until that MONDAY to pay it or lose their ins. She frantically called me asking what to do? They wouldn't be in the office until Monday! When she contacted them, they told her they wouldn't take a credit card, but would take only a check or cash. She gave then the ck # and mailed it that day. They live in the same city as the office is in. She checked with them on Tues and Wed and they said they hadn't received it, and were canceling the policy. She finally got them to agree on another 3 days & she would send another ck that day. In the end, it turned out they HAD cashed the 1st ck. on Tues after she mailed it & cashed the second one too!

They were lucky his SS disability ck had just been deposited and the amounts were both covered, but what BS!

[KamaAina]

9. Small but crucial distinction: In CA, Blue Cross is not the same as Blue Shield.

Blue Shield of CA is still a nonprofit. Blue Cross got hoovered up by Anthem (now WellPoint).

And yet it appears to be the nonprofit Blue Shield that is doing this. Tell me again why nonprofit co-ops are an acceptable alternative to an actual public option? ;shrug: