WASHINGTON - The health insurance industry offered Tuesday for the first time to curb its controversial practice of charging higher premiums to people with a history of medical problems.
This I will now attribute to my repeated and relentless incendiary remarks posted here on this blog. They, the insurance company corporations and conglomerates, are, finally relenting!
Full story here: Insurers offer to stop charging sick people more
No doubt the momentum in Washington, lead by President Obama, to reform practices by insurance companies that are wasteful and detrimental to patients and employers and that result in decreasing companies in the USA from competing effectively in a global market. That is insurance company bad! Reform good!
In the letter, the two insurance industry groups said their members are willing to “phase out the practice of varying premiums based on health status in the individual market” if all Americans are required to get coverage.
Golly gee, Batman, I wonder why they would do such a thing?
“The offer here is to transition away from risk rating, which is one of the things that makes life hell for real people,” said health economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation public policy center. “They have never in their history offered to give up risk rating.”
Yes, Robin, it seems they are up to their old tricks. Trying to win political support for the "don't worry. Look, we're reforming ourselves. See?", argument that has kept 'em from the populist uprising proverbial boot up the you know what til now. You see, Robin, they are just not that into you!
Insurers are trying to head off the creation of a government insurance plan that would compete with them, something that liberals and many Democrats are pressing for. To try to win political support, the industry has already made a number of concessions. Last year, for example, insurers offered to end the practice of denying coverage to sick people.
Hey, that what I just said!
Insurance companies now charge very high premiums to people who are trying to purchase coverage as individuals and have a history of medical problems, such as diabetes or skin cancer. Even if such a person is offered coverage, that individual is often unable to afford the high premiums. About 7 percent of Americans buy their coverage as individuals, while more than 60 percent have job-based insurance.
Silly, people. Thinking they should be able to get affordable health insurance when they are sick or have an illness. Golly, that's when they need insurance. They should buy insurance when they are healthy and never use it and never go to the doctor so the nice insurance corporation can break all their profit records. And then an Angel gets its wings! Really!
The companies left themselves several outs, however. The letter said they would still charge different premiums based on such factors as age, place of residence, family size and benefits package.
Whoops, I always forget to read that fine print. Gets me every darn time! And I'm sure other factors too: like member size, number of dates in high school, if you ever fantasized about your grade school teacher...I don't feel dirty! etc.
I for one am not buying it. Any corporation that spends less than 60% of the dollars you give them to pay for a service that you could have paid for directly yourself and then denies you the service or denies the person (doctor etc) that gave you the service the money that was intended from them...well you get it...they are middle men...and a little more than self serving...maybe even crooks! Oh yes, quite frequently, crooks. Choosing who lives and dies. And they say doctors have a God complex. Methinks its the bean counting accountants! Except for mine, he's okay. I get to pick a toy off the top shelf every time a do my taxes!
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