Massachusetts Union Members to Insurance Industry: Don't Derail Health Care Reform

by Mike Hall, Jul 24, 2009 More than 300 union activists surrounded the office of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP), in downtown Boston yesterday, to protest the insurance industry’s tactics in opposing national health care reform. MAHP and other industry groups, such as America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), have mounted a multimillion-dollar campaign of TV and radio ads, phony town hall meetings and lobbying to scuttle comprehensive health care reform. Says Rich Rogers, executive secretary of the Greater Boston Labor Council: We sent a strong message today in Boston that we can’t allow the insurance industry to derail reform. It is time to stand up to the insurance companies and show them that we mean business. The insurance industry’s main targets are heath care reform that includes a public health insurance option and curbs on the industry’s abusive practices that deny people needed care. A public plan option would allow workers and their families who either have private insurance coverage or no coverage at all to choose between private insurance or a public plan with a package of comprehensive benefits. Just last week, a former insurance executive outlined how insurance companies look for any reason to deny a claim or cancel a person’s policy when they make major claims. Jeff Crosby, president of the North Shore Labor Council, told rally participants that the pharmaceutical giants “bleed the system at a rate of profit twice that of most other industries,” and the insurance companies must be stopped from killing real reform. We can’t leave health care to people to whom it is just another business to make money. These health insurance companies are not health care providers, they are in the business of health care. It would be easier if there was a short cut, if we didn’t have to take on several of the most powerful industries in the country at once. The rally was co-sponsored by the Greater Boston Labor Council, the North Shore Labor Council, AFT Massachusetts, the SEIU Massachusetts State Council, the Boston Building Trades Council and others. this is one of the responses to this post on the AFL-CIO's blog TrueDemocrat on 27.07.2009 at 17:34 And Congress is comfortable negotiating with these maggots of profit, are WE going to get a good deal? EVER WONDER WHY YOU HAVE TO FIGHT SO HARD WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY TO GET THE CARE YOU NEED? . . . Health insurance is big business. The companies make huge profits and their CEOs make millions, while the rest of us, employers and workers alike, face skyrocketing healthcare costs, impossible bureaucracy, and life-threatening denials. COMPANY Headquarters 2007 PROFITS* Aetna Inc. Hartford, CT $ 1.831 BILLION CIGNA Corp. Philadelphia, PA $ 1.115 BILLION Coventry Health Care *owns Altius, Carelink, Group Health Plan, HealthAmerica, OmniCare, WellPath, others Bethesda, MD $ 626 million Health Net Woodland Hills, CA $ 194 million Humana Inc. Louisville, KY $ 834 million UnitedHealth Group * owns owns Oxford, PacifiCare, IBA, AmeriChoice, Evercare, Ovations, MAMSI and Ingenix, a healthcare data company Minnetonka, MN $ 4.654 BILLION WellPoint * owns Blues across the US, including AnthemBlue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin, Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Healthy Alliance, and many others (Anthem is right here in Maine ) Indianapolis, IN $ 3.345 BILLION http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org/learn_more/the_roster/ Supporting Notes and References: 1. Aetna: In 2007, Aetna applauded itself for its low “medical loss ratio”–the percentage of revenue it “loses” to paying for health care. (Sensitive to public relations, the industry now calls this a “medical benefit ratio.”). Aetna spends less than 80 percent of premiums on health care by avoiding unhealthy enrollees and keeping a lid on services. http://seekingalpha.com/article/63682-aetna-inc-q4-2007-earnings-call-transcript (February 7, 2008) 2. CIGNA: a multinational business, CIGNA picked up its Starbridge products when it purchased StarHRG from HealthMarkets in 2006. HealthMarkets’ MEGA Life and Health, which targets the self-employed, has been investigated across the country for shady sales practices and shoddy coverage. http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org/learn_more/the_roster/ 3. Coventry: subsidiaries include: Altius, Carelink, Group Health Plan, HealthAmerica, OmniCare, WellPath, and others.4. HealthNet: Health Net made the news by giving large bonuses to employees for canceling policies. Los Angeles Times, Health insurer tied bonuses to dropping sick policyholders, November 9, 2007: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nsure9nov09,0,4409342.story 5. Humana: Humana’s a big player in the privatized portion of Medicare. In 2007, Humana was accused of “bait and switch” tactics—luring seniors into a Medicare prescription drug plan by offering low premiums one year, then jacking them up the next. –The Boston Globe, January 3, 2007: http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2007/01/03/menino_calls_for_humana_inquiry/ In May 2007, according to The New York Times: “In the first major investigation of Medicare marketing, the Oklahoma insurance commissioner has documented widespread misconduct by agents working for Humana.” Investigators found signs that agents had used “bait and switch tactics to secure the initial invitation” into Medicare beneficiaries’ homes. The state fined Humana half a million dollars for “using unlicensed agents” and,in some cases, “misleading marketing practices and misrepresentations.” –The New York Times, May 15,2007: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/washington/15medicare.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1179231206-TRT2tWRts1oPzIUlIXb3iQ&oref=slogin&oref=slogin 6. UnitedHealth: also owns Oxford, PacifiCare, IBA, AmeriChoice, Evercare, Ovations, MAMSI. UnitedHealth also owns Ingenix, a health care data company, and other health-care relatedbusinesses.In 2006, UnitedHealth’s then-CEO, William McGuire, was fingered in a stock options scandal. Though he ultimately returned $620 million, he managed to keep $800 million. Stephen Hemsley, who joined UnitedHealth from Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that closed shop in the wake of the Enron scandal, became CEO. “A court filing says UnitedHealth Group chief Stephen Hemsley had more involvement in options backdating thanhad been revealed in earlier investigations.” –Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul), May 22, 2008:http://www.startribune.com/business/19196249.html?location_refer=Your+Money The New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, stated, “We believe there was an industry-wide schemeperpetuated by some of the nation’s largest health insurers to deceive and defraud consumers.” Mr Cuomo issuing the company for systematically forcing patients to pay more than they should when using doctors andhospitals outside their insurer’s networks. –The New York Times, February 14, 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/business/14health.html?ei=5088&en=5536a581a8ba6d03&ex=1360645200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1214927387-PYqRek14Cv9H4h8Oo9uqrA 7. WellPoint: WellPoint, the country’s biggest health insurance company, has Blue plans all over the country, most operating as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Just a few other holdings include: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin, Empire HealthChoice Assurance, and Healthy Alliance.The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Wayne DeVeydt, reiterated this point. “I want you to know that we remain very disciplined in our underwriting approach and do not pursue business that we believe is priced below our profitability targets.” http://seekingalpha.com/article/73633-wellpoint-inc-q1-2008-earnings-call-transcript (April 23, 2008) FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE: http://www.pnhp.org/and http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org/learn_more/the_roster/ from AFL-CIO NOW Blog July 27, 2009