Yeah, because private health insurance is SO wonderful
You hear a lot of dire warnings from opponents of health care reform about the potential, theoretical dangers of government involvement in health care, right down to claims that we’ll be pushing old people off onto ice flows if ObamaCare were to ever become law.
However, I think it’s important — and telling — to compare those imaginary “what if” stories to the real-life, well-documented and all-too-numerous examples of abuse, corruption and downright cruelty perpetrated in our current system dominated by private “free market” health insurance.
The overall statistics are grim: Health-care costs are rising at double the rate of overall inflation, to the point that health care consumes 17 percent of our gross domestic product, and we pay two to three times more per capita for health care than any other Western industrialized country. And despite all that investment, a significant portion of our population still has no health-care coverage.
That’s not to mention repeated instances of corporate fraud in the health-care sector (see, Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth), denials of coverage for reasons of pre-existing conditions and even outright, after-the-fact cancellation of policies for Americans who faithfully paid premiums for years but saw their policies “rescinded” when they dared to actually file a claim.
Earlier this summer, a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings into that last phenomenon, called rescission. Committee investigators documented thousands of cases in which insurance companies canceled coverage and refused to pay for expensive, life-saving treatment. The companies justified that action by citing what amounted to technical omissions and mistakes by customers in filling out often complicated application forms.
Take a look at the tape below. The first woman tells of her experience being stripped of coverage for failing to disclose a pre-existing condition that she never knew she had and may not in fact have at all. The testimony of the second woman, which begins at 8:40, details the heartbreaking case of her late brother, who was stripped of health-care insurance after seeking treatment for aggressive lymphoma. Why? Again, because he didn’t tell the insurance company about minor and unrelated conditions that were mentioned in his health care records but that he never knew he had in the first place.
“To deny a dying person necessary medical treatment based upon medical conditions a patient never had knowledge of, never complained about or never been treated for is cruel,” the woman tells Congress.
But if you only have time and patience to hear one story, make it the third one. Robin Beaton, whose testimony begins at 17:00, tells of losing her individual health-care coverage just days before her scheduled double-mastectomy for an aggressive form of cancer. Her insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, canceled her coverage by citing treatment she had received from a dermatologist for acne. Without that insurance coverage or a big wad of cash, Beaton learned, no hospital or surgery would perform the necessary lifesaving surgery.
“Can you imagine having to walk around with cancer growing in your body, with no insurance?” she asks. “…. The sad thing is, Blue Cross and Blue Shield took my high premiums. The very first time I ever had a claim, the very first time — it was suspected of cancer — they took action against me, searching high and low. They turned over every single thing they could in my medical history to pull out anything that would cause any suspicion on me so they didn’t have to pay for my cancer.”
It tooks months, including intervention by Beaton’s congressman, before coverage was reinstated and she could have the necessary surgery. By then, her tumor had almost tripled in size, necessitating much more radical surgery.
These are real-life, documented examples of what happens to sick human beings trying to deal with a health-care industry whose bottom line is, well, the bottom line.
Later in the hearing, in an exchange not included here, subcommittee chairman Bart Stupak of Michigan asked three insurance company executives whether they would promise to stop canceling coverage of customers who had made inadvertent omissions on their applications with no intent to deceive or defraud. All three refused.
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334 comments Add your comment
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
August 5th, 2009
11:31 am
The overall statistics are grim: Health-care costs are rising at double the rate of overall inflation, to the point that health care consumes 17 percent of our gross domestic product, and we pay two to three times more per capita for health care than any other Western industrialized country.
No mention of the effect on cost caused by frivolous tort lawyers takes away the credibility of the entire column.
Welcome back, bookman!
Kamchak
August 5th, 2009
11:39 am
Every penny of profit the insurance companies make is a penny of health care denied.
stands for decibels
August 5th, 2009
11:41 am
Oy. I’ve heard a good chunk of that testimony, and of that committee’s work. It’s really worth looking into, not that many here will bother, alas.
Call modern for-profit health insurance what it is, Jay–it’s legal extortion, as currently configured, and these SOBs in charge don’t bat an eyelash at rigging the law in order to deny coverage for the flimsiest reasons imaginable.
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
August 5th, 2009
11:47 am
But apparently Congress is not philosophically averse to private air travel: At the end of July, the House approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite Gulfstream jets for ferrying top government officials and Members of Congress.
Aahhh, yes, a bonus for the money losing, financially ignorant kings and queens of the ruling class democrat party.
Having our cake and eating it too.
stands for decibels
August 5th, 2009
11:49 am
No mention of the effect on cost caused by frivolous tort lawyers takes away the credibility of the entire column.
To get serious for just a moment–you know, IR/YW, instead of cheering for those currently making complete asses of themselves and dooming your side’s chances of emerging as any kind of intelligent voice in the debate, you could actually make a case for that side.
Oh, you’d have to think outside the crude solutions so far proposed by the GOP. After all, the kind of pain-and-suffering caps that’ve been legislated in GA, last I checked, hadn’t been workable because courts have found them unconstitutional.
What could make a difference, however, would be to lead an effort to amend the constitution in such a way so as to make civil cases much less likely to be heard by juries. These trials are insanely (and necessarily) expensive, and wind up screwing both sides.
And there are other instances where principles conservatives could actually contribute something to the debate. You know, instead of gussying up your “socialist!” name-calling.
(Hey, folks, figured it was worth a shot.)
Paul
August 5th, 2009
11:50 am
The fact so much misinformation is put out so strongly about the ‘dangers’ and ‘real intent’ of reform ought to be, if not a first clue, then evidence enough of the desire of some powerful interests to maintain the status quo.
And why would they do that? Because of an altruistic concern for the health of their fellow citizens? Nope. I almost hate to say it, but at least some newbies may not have heard it…
Money… and Power.
I notice most all these opponents never, ever, ever defend the current system.
ByteMe
August 5th, 2009
11:52 am
The Republican mantras:
- Don’t give teenagers accurate information about how to prevent a pregnancy
- Force them to have the baby
- Let them go bankrupt if the baby or the parent gets sick
- Complain instead about “welfare queens”
Losers. No wonder no one except the ignorant wants them in office.
Rightwing Troll
August 5th, 2009
11:55 am
Yah, it’s all the lawyers fault…
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
August 5th, 2009
12:00 pm
Caesarean sections — which are performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965 — often are considered an unnecessary risk and “an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
According to the Times, c-sections can increase a woman’s risk of complications, such as infection, blood clots and premature delivery. Even without complication, c-sections typically result in longer hospital stays and increased costs.
Expenses related to c-section births account for 45% of the more than $79 billion in annual hospital charges that childbirth incurs in the U.S. annually.
C-sections that are now performed as a precautionary measure to keep doctors from getting sued by John Edwards and his ilk.
Tort lawyers, mouth breather.
stands for decibels
August 5th, 2009
12:00 pm
Yah, it’s all the lawyers fault…
Unless they’re those sterling examples of Real Americana being churned out by Liberty U. and more legitimate institutions, and joining the Federalist society.
Then they’re afforded something akin to Apostle status.
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
August 5th, 2009
12:03 pm
And Edwards and his tort lawyer buddies were wrong too-
Why Cesarean Section Has Not Reduced the Incidence of Cerebral Palsy
http://healthewoman.org/2009/03/06/why-cesarean-section-has-not-reduced-the-incidence-of-cerebral-palsy/
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:03 pm
“No mention of the effect on cost caused by frivolous tort lawyers takes away the credibility of the entire column.”
yeah … “frivolous” …
Surgery on a patient with a debilitating spinal-cord disease went terribly wrong in a District hospital last year: The patient was discharged only to be readmitted a few days later complaining of severe leg pain. The surgeon, it turned out, had operated on the wrong part of the spine.
A 44-year-old man who came to the emergency room of a Maryland hospital with painful swelling in his groin received a hernia diagnosis from a physician’s assistant, who operated without consulting a physician. Fifteen minutes later the man went into cardiac arrest and died.
Meanwhile, over the course of the year, patients at one hospital in Northern Virginia developed life-threatening blood infections at a rate of 2.1 for every 1,000 times doctors inserted an IV tube to deliver medication.
These are among the hundreds of incidents of death or serious medical harm disclosed in the past year by hospitals in the Washington region, preventable errors that until recently have not required public reporting. Under laws that took effect last year in Virginia and a few years earlier in the District and Maryland, hospitals must report to health regulators many serious injuries that patients suffer in the course of treatment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072002336_pf.html
Who You Gonna Call
August 5th, 2009
12:08 pm
The companies justified that action by citing what amounted to technical omissions and mistakes by customers in filling out often complicated application forms.
Been there, done that. By the way, have I mentioned lately that I think World Insurance Co. out of Omaha, Nebraska, is a no good rotten place that puts its owner’s profits ahead of its purported task of providing health insurance lately. Anyway, we were fortunate enough to be able to afford the cost of paying for everything on our own after this World Insurance Co. up and canceled our coverage after the surgery was completed, even though they had been involved every step of the way in working with the doctors and the hospital and getting the pre-approvals and all. By the way, how many of you know that some insurance companies, such as World Insurance Co., even go so far as to re-define what pre-approval means and guess what, it doesn’t mean what some may think it means. And, they most certainly do go through every single word that you provide them with in their search for an uncrossed ‘t’. I know that for a fact. Of course, if you have group insurance, that is not a problem, yet.
The Nerve
August 5th, 2009
12:09 pm
I see the talking points on demonizing the insurance companies has been received.
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:09 pm
and, as for tort reform saving health care costs … even the CBO and GAO say that tort reform would not produce ANY savings in health costs …
http://www.factcheck.org/president_uses_dubious_statistics_on_costs_of.html
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:10 pm
“I see the talking points on demonizing lawyers has been received.”
fixed your typo for you
(sorry for the copywrite infringement!!)
AmVet
August 5th, 2009
12:11 pm
Take away ALL of the staggering amount of giveaways and corporate welfare afforded to BIG pharma, HMOs, etc… and see what the profiteers, frauds and criminals would come up with.
Single payer. Now.
Who You Gonna Call
August 5th, 2009
12:12 pm
C-sections that are now performed as a precautionary measure to keep doctors from getting sued by John Edwards and his ilk.
That’s because if the baby were to die during natural child birth, you family-valued conservatives would accuse them of aborting the little one and insist on stoning the woman to death.
Turd Ferguson
August 5th, 2009
12:12 pm
Without the big bad insurance companys this Country would cease to function.
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:13 pm
and one last word on the red herring of “frivolous lawsuits”
The figures were taken from a March 2003 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that estimated the direct cost of medical malpractice was 2 percent of the nation’s health-care spending and said defensive medical practices accounted for 5 percent to 9 percent of the overall expense.
A 2004 report by the Congressional Budget Office also pegged medical malpractice costs at 2 percent of U.S. health spending and “even significant reductions” would do little to reduce the growth of health-care expenses.
The proportion of medical malpractice verdicts among the top jury awards in the U.S. has declined during the past 20 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Of the top 25 awards so far this year, only one was a malpractice case. At least 30 states cap damages in medical suits, primarily for “pain and suffering” awards.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=az9qxQZNmf0o
Turd Ferguson
August 5th, 2009
12:13 pm
I will take the Devil I know (current healthcare system) vs the…well, hmmm…the other Devil I know (ObamaCare).
Obama is the son of Satan.
TGT
August 5th, 2009
12:14 pm
Yeah, Obamacare is the answer because government does EVERYTHING so well.
“But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”–James Madison from Federalist 51.
Sure we need government, but not to the extent that we currently have, (much less to the extent which we are headed). And sure, the health INSURANCE industry needs some reform, though government has created much of the problems here as well.
“That government is best which governs least,” said Thomas Paine, and therein lies the heart of the solution when it comes to ANYKIND of “reform.”
Paul
August 5th, 2009
12:14 pm
USinUK
There’s never ‘one last word’ around here….
Who You Gonna Call
August 5th, 2009
12:16 pm
Without the big bad insurance companys this Country would cease to function.
With the bad insurance companies, this country almost ceased to function. Remember AIG.
TGT
August 5th, 2009
12:17 pm
Excuse me, “many of the problems…”
md
August 5th, 2009
12:17 pm
You can forget tort reform in any form or fashion – attorneys making laws for attorneys is like politicians(attorneys) working for the masses. They are the ultimate look out for no 1 group.
Normal
August 5th, 2009
12:18 pm
Obama is the son of Satan.
Then he is the right man to fix this sorry mess.
Joey
August 5th, 2009
12:18 pm
Exchanging one scare-tactic anecdote for another scare-tactic anecdoteis going to convince whom?
The stories that matter are the ones you exchange over a beer or at a family outing or dining out with friends about the problem you had when you tried to get something done at a government office.
You will tell nor hear almost no happy stories about how Federal Government employees treated you or people you know.
Who You Gonna Call
August 5th, 2009
12:19 pm
Bush signed into law, during his rule, that big tort reform bill that the conservatives just had to have in order to set the planet back on its proper course. You conservatives have such short memories. My, how convenient.
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:19 pm
Lawyers are EVIL,
Barry is the Joker (great Poster!)
Profits ARE EVIL!
Let’s all take our cars to the dealer and get $4500!
TW
August 5th, 2009
12:20 pm
Fascinating. It’s almost as if all the evils the rightwing hangs on ’socialism’ are actually already in full swing as a result of their capitalism…
hmmm…fascinating…
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
Tort reform…
take all lawyers,
and all judges,
shoot them,
start over!
EZ!
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
SOCIALISM MAKES THIS ALL SO EZ!
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
“Obama is the son of Satan.”
nope. I have no idea WHY no one takes TF seriously about anything he says …
it’s a mystery.
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:22 pm
ALL ANIMALS ARE CREATED EQUAL
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:22 pm
SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS! (AND DESERVE MORE HEALTH CARE!)
USinUK
August 5th, 2009
12:22 pm
Paul –
“There’s never ‘one last word’ around here….”
true that!
okay, my fine feathered friends … I’m outta here for the evening …
have a good one!
Normal
August 5th, 2009
12:23 pm
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
First I have to see if you properly filled out the request forms for the bullets…
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:24 pm
Barry is Barry’s son! Born in Kenya, killed him a mongoose when he was only 3! SMOKED HIM SOME POT AND SOLD SOME ON NORTH SHORE BACK IN THE EARLY 80’s. (he had good pot!)
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:25 pm
NORMAL:
FORMS! WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ FORMS!
Melody
August 5th, 2009
12:26 pm
These horror stories are actually worse than mine. I had (past tense, fine now) cancer. I was out of work and on disability when COBRA ran out. I called several insurance companies, but no one would let me buy an individual plan on that wonderful free market due to my “pre-existing condition.” The federal government passed a little known law some years ago that requires one insurance company in each state to sell plans to those in this predicament. The catch is that the company can charge whatever they feel the risk is worth. (Republicans probably wouldn’t have voted for it without that catch.) When I found that company (can’t recall name) they told me that yes, they’d cover me, but at a charge of $10,000.00 per month. (Yes, ten thousand, not a typo.) To top it off, this would not include coverage for the routine medical scans that I periodically need to determine if my cancer has returned! Luckily, I was only without insurance for only three months because I soon found new employment. Currently, employer-based insurance is the only type someone with a pre-existing condition can get.
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:26 pm
AmVet
August 5th, 2009
12:27 pm
Hey, I’ve got an idea!
Why don’t we take away the rights of the people to sue any irresponsible/criminal corporation or organization! EVER!
The fact is that over the past 15 years, it has become harder and harder and harder to even seek justice from these white collar criminal-led groups.
And the idiots in the GOP want even more impunity for them!
You see to the willfully ignorant, the lawyers who try to protect those whose lives and fortunes have been ruined by these irresponsible/criminal corporations are the cause of the “health care” debacle.
The same way the teachers are the cause of the plethora of dumba__es coming out of our schools.
And the same way the unions ruined the auto industry, etc…
The conned will always look away from the real reasons for any and all problems. Especially if they can find innocent people to demonize.
It beats actually educating themselves…
Gandalf, the Great: King and Wizard of Gwinnesia
August 5th, 2009
12:28 pm
Buzzy Barry always had the best buds on North Shore!
Midori
August 5th, 2009
12:32 pm
Gandalf,
what are you, 12?
Conservative Woman
August 5th, 2009
12:34 pm
I had an abortion, “an abortion, Michael!” to save me from Edwards and his tort lawyer ilk. Oh the irony.
Pokey
August 5th, 2009
12:34 pm
Looking forward to the JB column where he crtiticizes BHO for ignoring CBO “intel” re: the health care “reform” plan and pressuring the CBO director.
Gandalf - First!
August 5th, 2009
12:35 pm
I’m hurt. I am going back to the Idol Chat blog to talk about Paula!
Pokey
August 5th, 2009
12:36 pm
BTW, JB…please don’t report me to the White House web site for criticizing the health care “reform” plan…amazing!
Mrs. Godzilla
August 5th, 2009
12:37 pm
I suggest the GOP start to come around to healthcare reform pronto….
I’d love us to ram single payer down the GOP’s throat by reconciliation.