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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (149213)	12/6/2008 7:31:32 PM
From: geode00	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

Yet more cement-headed thinking. Considering how much you people were against multi-trillion dollar bailouts for your people's greed and incompetence, you really should take this attitude with a program that saves money and improves the competitiveness of the country. Oh, wait, you guys weren't against bailing out the free market. It is amazing, you little you understand.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (149213)	12/6/2008 8:28:31 PM
From: Steve Dietrich	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

How do you think we got Social Security? With crisis comes opportunity. And this is a perfect time for national health insurance. I sincerely hope it happens. SD

To: Brumar89 who wrote (149213)	12/6/2008 8:42:33 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

lol what a dolt. Especially considering most people have health insurance and are happy with what they have. Yeah US industry is THRILLED with the state of healthcare right now. And most taxpayers are THRILLED with the cost of the medicare drug plan at one trillion plus, and we are all THRILLED with the projected costs of this charade at 32 TRILLION for the baby boom generation. But don't worry your limited mind about it, just spend like your hero Dumbya Bush who doubled the federal debt.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (149213)	12/6/2008 9:20:54 PM
From: geode00	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

It doesn't matter if you have health insurance. --------- Court Awards $9M to Cancer Patient Over Cancelled Coverage Patsy Bates, a 52-year-old breast cancer patient, just learned of a court order that awards her $9 million dollars in damages after her healthcare provider, Health Net Inc., one of California’s largest private medical insurance providers, cancelled her coverage just when she needed it the most. Health Net to pay $9 million to a cancer patient Bates, a grandmother and hair salon owner, was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer in January 2004 and had accrued medical expenses in excess of $129,000 when Health Net cancelled her coverage. She was forced to forego medical care until a charitable organization pitched in several months later. A private arbitration judge, Sam Cianchetti, who is retired from the Los Angeles County Superior Court, ruled on the case, saying Health Net acted in bad faith and broke state laws. The ruling is the first of its kind and is expected to send a strong message to healthcare providers for the “egregious” and controversial practice of weeding out policyholders who accrue large medical bills. The weeding-out policy is standard practice in the industry although insurers say it happens only on an infrequent basis. The company which operates Blue Cross of California, the state’s largest for-profit insurer, issued a statement saying they are in favor of changing the policy that calls for such cancellations. Comment was declined by Blue Shield of California. Steve Poznier, California’s insurance commissioner applauds the ruling, saying the practice is “illegal, immoral and will not be tolerated.” Other insurance regulators and patient advocates were pleased but stunned by the ruling. Defending its decision to cancel Bates’ coverage, Health Net officials claim they’d never have insured her in the first place if she’d revealed her true weight and the presence of a pre-existing heart condition when she filed for coverage. Bates claims her application was completed by an aggressive broker for the healthcare provider who hinted at a lower monthly premium. At the time the application was completed, Bates’ hair salon was enjoying a busy day and she didn’t have time to complete the form herself. Bates says she was satisfied with the insurance coverage she already had and had not been shopping for another carrier. During arbitration, Health Net revealed a quota-based internal program that rewards employees with bonuses for meeting a quota of cancellations measured by the amount of money the cancellations save the company.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (149213)	12/6/2008 9:24:49 PM
From: geode00	Respond to of 173976

Health insurers aren't all that happy either. Sure, you can make money if you collect premiums yet refuse to pay when claims are made...hey, that's the AIG model of gambling in the CDO market. Hey, that cost the US taxpayer $150 billion so far to bail out that idiotic business model. ------------------ Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Answers Attorney General DETROIT (Map) - DETROIT, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan provided more than 300 pages of detailed financial and membership information today to Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to answer his request for further information about Michigan's individual health insurance market. The information confirms growth of Michigan's individual health insurance market and escalating financial losses suffered by BCBSM, the state's last-resort insurance carrier, in its individual line of business. The BCBSM data shows: Financial losses in individual lines of business -- BCBSM lost $111 million on its individual lines of business in the first nine months of 2008, and expects losses to grow to $166 million by year end. The company projects to lose nearly $264 million on individual policies in 2009. Risk-Based Capital position lower -- BCBSM reserves are deteriorating as measured by Risk Based Capital, fueled by the growing losses in the individual market. RBC is projected to fall from 627% in 2008 to below 450% by 2011. When RBC rapidly deteriorates below 600%, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association -- the licensing authority that owns the Cross and Shield brands -- may begin a warning and intensive monitoring process. If RBC continues to drop, this process may conclude with the revocation of the company's ability to operate as a licensed Blues Plan. Membership growth in individual line of business -- BCBSM membership numbers substantiate dramatic growth in BCBSM's nongroup (under 65) line of business since 2006. Average BCBSM membership from January through June 2008 was 109,707 members, up 95 percent from 56,324 average membership from January through December 2006. Investment portfolio conservative -- BCBSM's investment portfolio contributed to its financial health through September, due to the conservative, high-quality nature of investments which have collectively remained above market benchmarks for return. While BCBSM's investment portfolio -- like most others nationally -- is experiencing fourth quarter losses, those results were not factored into results that warn of the company's falling RBC position. If investment losses are not reversed, the projected RBC will be worse than forecasted. Alternative tax burden -- The value of BCBSM's state and local tax exemption was $80 million in 2007, a slight increase from $77.9 million in 2003. However, the financial value to the taxpayers of Michigan of BCBSM's nonprofit social mission contributions, which extends beyond serving as the state's insurer of last resort, amounts to an alternative tax burden on BCBSM of $311 million. In providing the information, BCBSM complied with a data request included in the Attorney General's Nov. 13, 2008, letter to Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp. BCBSM has warned policy makers and regulators over the past 16 months that because of Michigan's 30-year-old regulatory structure -- which allows all other carriers to dump high-risk individuals into BCBSM's insurance pool without limit or regulation -- uncontrollable financial losses on individual policies will escalate and lead to BCBSM's entire business becoming financially unstable in the near future. "Michigan's individual health insurance market is set up to fail financially," said Mark Bartlett, BCBSM executive vice president and chief financial officer. "It's a hard truth, especially if you oppose reforming the market, but it is the truth. Unless comprehensive reform is achieved this year, the financial situation will grow into a crisis that threatens health care, the economy and the health insurance safety net for millions of Michigan residents." BCBSM also released a letter from its licensing authority -- the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association -- that forewarns of the possibility of the company losing its ability to operate as a Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan should its financial strength continue to deteriorate. The letter from BCBSA chief executive Scott Serota points to "rapidly growing and unmanageable losses in the individual market driven by a difficult legislative and regulatory structure" as key factors in BCBSM's financial decline. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is nonprofit and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.