Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Sauce for the Gander

It occurs to me that insurance companies (in general, but especially health insurance) have gotten into a habit of promising things they never deliver. "Bait and switch" is generally illegal, and grounds for lawsuit or complaint to chamber of commerce, Better Business Bureau, etc. And insurance companies often wind up owing people huge amounts of money that they refuse to pay. That's grounds for setting a collection agency on them.

I don't expect this sort of tactic would work very often; the companies are too rich and powerful. But if a LOT of people started suing the insurance companies and turning collectors onto them, it would drive them nuts, maybe even make them stop being so horrid. And halting that kind of attack would be a giant game of whack-a-mole, because there are millions of dissatisfied customers out there.
Tags: economics
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  • 29 comments
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cissa

Re: You know what sucks?

cissa

September 13 2009, 22:07:57 UTC 11 years ago

This is true, in my experience- it took roughly that long for us for our daughter.

And the instructions were obscure and often self-contradictory; I am convinced the goal is to drive people who need it into giving up. And- we were privileged in this; we're middle-class, educated, married, and white! It's gotta be worse for most people- especially when they're adults, and don't have anyone else to navigate it FOR them.

Successfully navigating the disability process would be pretty much impossible for most people that need the help.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: You know what sucks?

ysabetwordsmith

September 14 2009, 01:12:01 UTC 11 years ago

>>I am convinced the goal is to drive people who need it into giving up. <<

That matches my observations. It's a diabolical way to "save" money (that probably costs more in the long run).

>>Successfully navigating the disability process would be pretty much impossible for most people that need the help.<<

Yes, I think so. That's very bad.
cissa

Re: You know what sucks?

cissa

September 14 2009, 01:16:56 UTC 11 years ago

But it's so "efficient"! meaning, that obvious and immediate costs go down, while long-term dollar and human costs skyrocket- but no one's tracking those.

This is why MA, in the wake of our "reform" meaning mandatory health insirance purchasing, is pursuing a Plan where doctors are paid $X per year per patient, no matter what care they may or may not need. Obviously, the ideal situation here would be to have a ton of patients and provide no care at all. I'm not saying this exactly will happen- but it DOES mean they are planning on paying doctors to deny care (rather than fobbing that off onto the insurance companies as they mostly do now). I experiences this with my broken wrist, when my primary health physician fought tooth and nail to deny me the physical therapy I needed to get back to WORK, because part of that cost would have come out of her take.