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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gauguin who wrote (41352)	11/8/1999 8:57:00 PM
From: jpmac	Respond to of 71178

<g> I thought of you as I wrote that. Made me feel not alone. Crush the bad guys. Where are my boots?

To: Gauguin who wrote (41352)	11/10/1999 1:00:00 PM
From: E	Respond to of 71178

<<<AND THEY KNOW IT AND COUNT ON IT.>>> And that's not paranoia, either. My sister used to go to a weight clinic in Washington DC, a big fancy one with quite a large staff. Her doctor there reported to her a side-conversation he'd had at a dinner table at which he'd been seated next to some high official of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, I think it was. One of the biggies, anyway. (This took place maybe ten years ago at a conference of some sort.) Well, my sister's doctor's clinic had just signed up for health insurance for their employees, and had not chosen BC/BS. So her doctor said to the guy, "I looked into a number of companies, and you ought to know that the only reason we didn't choose you is the paperwork. It is unnecessarily complex and time-consuming and frustrating. If you would simplify your forms and procedures, we would go with you." And the guy said, "Do you know how many more claims would be filed if we did that?" He had some estimate of how much they saved every year because of the nuisance-hurdles people had to climb over. The company was consciously making a choice to discourage filing by the setting up of obstacles. It isn't surprising, in a way. But a spokesman being willing to be so open about it, even in a personal conversation with a doctor, is surprising. There are things I haven't liked about my HMO, but I sure do like the absence of paperwork.