Last month, testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by a former health insurance insider named Wendell Potter made news even before it occurred: CBS NEWS headlined: “Cigna Whistleblower to Testify.” After Potter’s testimony the industry scrambled to do damage control: “Insurers defend rescissions, take heat for lack of transparency.”
In his first extended television interview since leaving the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation’s largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry. “I didn’t intend to [speak out], until it became really clear to me that the industry is resorting to the same tactics they’ve used over the years, and particularly back in the early ’90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan.”
[…]
Looking back over his long career, Potter sees an industry corrupted by Wall Street expectations and greed. According to Potter, insurers have every incentive to deny coverage — every dollar they don’t pay out to a claim is a dollar they can add to their profits, and Wall Street investors demand they pay out less every year. Under these conditions, Potter says, “You don’t think about individual people. You think about the numbers, and whether or not you’re going to meet Wall Street’s expectations.”
Admittedly, this is not exactly a stunning revelation. But it is refreshing to see the industry quake a bit when the truth is told out loud. Lots of links to videos and transcripts on the site.
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Oddly, if you don’t have a chance, a good chance of living, and more importantly Working! Then, who cares.
This is the future.
At the point you can’t work anymore, you are scheduled for termination.
Sad
And this is the system the right wing wants to retain.
Why do Republicans hate America?
My Fusion, A better questions is “Why are liberals so gullible?”
In Canada she wouldn’t have to go through this agony.
#3 – Bob
Why are Republicans so greedy?
This is when I’m happy to live in France.
We French take our excellent and free health system for granted, we should all watch that video…
My heart goes out to that poor woman and her ordeal.
So, what’s the point? That this type of number crunching, bureaucratic nightmare will somehow be better when it’s managed by a gargantuan gub’mint agency?
I don’t think so.
The real problem in this industry are the parasites (lawyers) which game the system for the sport of huge settlements and the practise of defensive medicine that is required to combat those parasites.
But tort laws will not be reformed because guess who donates HUGE sums of $$$ to (mostly democrat) politicians? That’s right: LAWYERS.
#3, Bob,
Are you suggesting she is lying, that her story neither happened nor is commonplace?
#4 She would have been treated by the socialized medicine of the UK too. How sad that money is put before health and that dumb shit repubs want to keep the status quo as they are the ones getting rich.
#6, breath,
If she was on Medicare her treatment would have been taken care of with no problem. If she was in the VA system she would have been treated as soon as possible. If she was in the military she wouldn’t wait to be treated. If she worked for any Federal or State government her case would be handled with efficiency.
Hey wait!!! That can’t be. Those are all government run health care programs. The government can’t run health care.
Yet instead of that, idiots like you will change the subject from the availability of health care to sub-standard health care we CURRENTLY RECEIVE. I feel she should be able to sue BC/BS for denying her her paid for coverage. The only problem is thew Republicans severely restricted that.
Private insurance companies are scumbags, but the government is just as greedy. Smoking causes millions of deaths each year from cancer and other illnesses, but it has yet to be outlawed. Why? Because tobacco sales generate too much tax revenue. Smoking not only affects the health of the smoker, but the people around them who choose not to smoke, but are forced to inhale second hand smoke in public places. I’m not buying that the government really cares about your health anymore than private insurance companies.
martfin, how can you say this when Obama’s health care reform lies dead on the floor in a majority democratc senate?
The motivation of the people on Wall Street who are driving policy decisions and the goons working for the insurance companies must be more complex than them just looking unemotionally at profit statistics.
If you look at how they operate, they must also be getting a sadistic buzz as they wield the power and life and death over people less fortunate than themselves. I don’t mind if they go off and finance and run a factory making widgets but they really shouldn’t be working in healthcare.
9. Nice to see you now realize there’s a distinction between the DOD and the VA. However, the VA hospital system doesn’t work that fast. It’s not efficient. I’ve used both systems as well as family members. The VA hospital system deals with retired or discharged veterans with unresolved medical issues at the time of discharge. VA Appointments are made months ahead of time and can often times be canceled and rescheduled at the convenience of the VA.
The reason for why the DOD treats ACTIVE DUTY personnel faster is due to its people being put in harm’s way more frequently and that wounds incurred during deployment / excercises / war can be very life-threatening on a fast scale. The veterans who do get out and make a very good living avoid the VA whenever possible.
The DOD service isn’t cheap and the VA service isn’t efficient. So it is correct to say that the government doesn’t run the greatest health care program around. If you were a military officer as you had claimed to be in a past posting, you would have known that instead of spouting off lies about how great military medical care is.
But you liberals never factor that in when you gripe about things like the DOD budget. Military doctors although well-intentioned and dedicated, often times get a bad reputation for mucking up medical procedures. They do with what they have.
Increasing this to cover every civilian in this country will be on a Pentagon budget. And it won’t be efficient.
#12 – Sea Lawyer Do you work for free, or do you expect to be paid for the services you provide? Unless you want to open up a charity hospital, don’t talk shit about what people do or don’t do in an attempt to make money.
Perhaps it’s time for you to read up on how health care systems work in other countries (E.g. Canada, the UK, Sweden).
@ 12
‘Do you work for free, or do you expect to be paid for the services you provide?’
Whats that got to do with anything. You may not be aware of this but the people working in socialized medicine get paid.
The charity point is just stupid. I mean really stupid. So she should hope that some charity may help her. Even though she paid her premiums etc? Ridiculous.
“If she was in the military she wouldn’t wait to be treated.”
I’m sorry about your sister.
You’re counter example, doesn’t really say much about the overall trend unfortunately.
Or are you insinuating that since your sister had problems therefore military care is bad. And the reason that military care is bad is because it is ‘run by the government’? Is that it?
Well if that’s true – that’s outrageous that our military gets terrible health care. I hope your fighting for that at every opportunity. And I’m assuming your solution is that they should get _much_ higher wages, so they can pay for expensive private health care. Right? Or am I missing something.
Anyways I come back to the same point. Look at any other industrialized nations. They have cheaper and better quality health-care. They are all based on a ‘socialized health care’. And yes that can exists with private health care. And yeah – I know how it works (and doesn’t here) cos I’ve lived there and experienced it.
US health care is broken. The insurance companies in the middle seemingly are the biggest problem. There needs to be an ‘insurance’ option you can rely on – the government is the best there is for that particular job. Therefore there needs to be a public option.
Public health care should never be for profit. Never. Pay doctors and health care workers well, provide modern and effective equipment and deny greedy financial manipulators access to a “take” off the top.
I would also suggest that patents not be allowed on health related items. Grants and/or awards could be given as rewards for significant discoveries, but otherwise cures and other means should be in the worldwide public domain.
@ 14
Marvelous. Here we go again…
Ugh. Its not a hugely important in a universal health care program that the hospitals etc are run by the government. Some might be, some might not. It makes some sense to me that some are, but it need not be many – otherwise there’s nothing to compare with. So examples of a VA system etc – doesn’t really have much to do with universal health care.
What does matter is that there is a government option for insurance. That’s the part that makes no sense. And the video shows at least one of the big problems.
There can still be private insurance companies. And if the public insurance is so terrible – many people will use that. I feel like a broken record – but look at other industrialized nations. Most people use the basic public insurance (paid directly or indirectly though taxes). Some people supplement with additional insurance. In the Uk if you use the private option you can get back the majority of the money that went to the public solution. Yet nobody much does that because the NHS provides a good service. Go figure.
Its simple. It works.
I can’t help thinking that cold war propaganda was way too effective – and has created a reality gap.
But we would not want a bureaucrat between us and our doctor. Nor would we want our health care rationed.
The mind reels.
#18 JimR
‘I would also suggest that patents not be allowed on health related items.’
This is a good point. I saw ‘The future of food’ last night. I think it makes sense that you should not be able to patent life. Seeds. Animals, you name it. Heath products is more tricky – but you’re grants/rewards idea has legs I think.
The reason for governments allowing the formation of companies – is for the benefit of people. And that often works pretty well. Unfortunately in some areas a blind profit motivation does not benefit people.
The development of suicide genes does not help people. It helps a few large companies profit.
I could also rant on patents on software. Or for the extension of copyright periods. Both of which are stupid unworkable messes, and are counter to the benefit of people, and therefore should be removed.
#17, Whats that got to do with anything? There would be significantly fewer doctors/nurses/dentists around if there wasn’t the motivating incentive of the monetary compensation they receive for what they do. Just like there wouldn’t be any plumbers around to fix your broken pipes if nobody thought there was good money to be made from it. The complaint that people “put money before health” is an extremely childish one, since anybody who who performs a service for payment is putting money before the service they provide, or else they would be doing it for free.
And actually, the point of my anecdotal example was just to be a reply to Fusion’s insinuation that the had it been the military health system (or medicare or the VA), everything would have been rosy for this lady. I don’t think the military health system is particularly bad at doing what it is designed for – maintaining a level of readiness so that forces can be deployed to effectively meet operational requirements.
#20 jealousmonk
So you actually want an insurance company – who will try anything to avoid paying up? Why?
She just didn’t die fast enough.
In the US “health-don’t-care” regime, you pay your premiums and then you are expected to die because your money actually padded the pockets of the HMO fat cats.
I mean, it takes a lot of balls to dare to criticize the “health-don’t-care” regime overloard.
She must have been crazy or already dying to pull a stunt like telling the truth to congress.
Have a look at the linked chart below. You can argue about reform till you are blue in the face but the simple fact remains… the per capita cost of health care in the USA is double the cost of other countries. You don’t get any better treatment, and in many cases worse. Your system, like many other American institutions, is broken. It is rife with corruption and greed. If any of you think that is an acceptable model of a supposedly world-leading (cough) country, you need your head examined.
Health_care_compared
#20, jealousmonk, “But we would not want a bureaucrat between us and our doctor. Nor would we want our health care rationed.”
Large corporations are largely bureaucratic in nature, just as the government is. Goods and Services are already rationed in a market system via prices – ten people want something, but there is only three to go around, the three willing to pay the most get them.
Have a look at this chart. You can argue about reform till you are blue in the face but the simple fact remains… the per capita cost of health care in the USA is double the cost of other countries. You don’t get any better treatment, and in many cases worse. Your system, like many other American institutions, is broken. It is rife with corruption and greed. If any of you think that is an acceptable model of a supposedly world-leading (cough) country, you need your head examined.
# 22
‘There would be significantly fewer doctors/nurses/dentists’
What makes you say that? Where’s your evidence? Clearly there are enough of such people in the rest of the industrial world – because they provide en mass better health care than here. I don’t know how many there are – but the results appear to speak for themselves, however much they are paid and however many there are.
The money incentive is over rated. People can have other motivation than just money, although that’s an obvious one.
Is 100 million dollar bonus a reasonable incentive to be a banker? Would 90 million receive the same results in terms of effort? How about 1 million. I think most people could do pretty well on a 1 million bonus. No? I mean what extra things are these people doing to earn as a bonus, 2500 times the average wage.
I believe the CEO of Rbs actually said literally that if his remuneration was lower it wouldn’t change the result. Studies have shown again and again, after a certain threshold that is the case for the majority of people. Similar studies show that having more money doesn’t make people happier. So what exactly are these people maximizing – boasting rights?
Anyways I digress – point is free market economics of the form of, less money equals less result. Or the opposite of more money equals better result don’t always work. Because it doesn’t take into any externalities. The biggest one is the people are complicated.
@ Martfin Are you high? In Canada and the UK the government decides when they have spent to much on you. Its not infinite care. Cancer patients get a round of treatment then reviewed to see if they are passed their expiration date. Its not all rainbows and unicorns. Don’t be so daft.
uhhh #1, The future is the past…where have you been? The only difference is in the past there wasn’t you tube and you were to go off to a quiet corner and pass away…like a cat.
But B/C promised her and then pulled back. They’re culpable for that. And were gullable to believe them, B/C that is…
#26 Do you want to control the money or let some bureaucrat with no name that is unavailable sitting in an office making the decisions on your behalf?
That’s exactly what’s happening now, you moron. The bureaucrat works for a big insurance company, and his orders are to come up with any rationale possible to deny claims, because that money goes directly to the bottom line.
As many others have said, every civilized country in the world has been able to figure out how to get reasonably priced healthcare to all their citizens.
Do you think Americans are too stupid to figure it out, Guyver? Why do you have such a pessimistic, can’t-do attitude? We split the atom, we put a man on the moon, we can figure out how to get everyone basic healthcare.