Health Care Protesters arrested in Baltimore

Folks Protesting at a Health Insurance Company Head Office in Baltimore were arrested yesterday. Some of the Protesters had walked into the Office Reception area and refused to leave when they said they were staying until they had spoken to the CEO. 'These Health Insurers are just Profit Oriented Companies who look after the interests of investors not the American People, if you look like some one who will generate less profit because you are ill they will not insure you. They only care about making money', said one Protester. The Health Insurance Company issued a Statement disputing the comments made by Protesters.

I was just looking at my paystub. I pay $63.83 a week for insurance. Times 52 equals about $3,300 a year. I've never used my insurance because I don't go to the doc. The one time I went to the emergency room, about a decade ago, the total cost was paid by me because of my deductible. So, yeah, I can kind of see where those protesters are coming from.

They are spot on.
It is a money making exercise.

Just a thought.
What if there had been some police brutality resulting in the protesters getting injured and the health company they protested at denied them cover?

Stinks, my monthly health insurance cost during 2009 was $659 per month. It'll be raised to well over $700 next year.

Jesus..I pay nothing for a family of five. My son spent 1.5 weeks in hospital it was free, My daughter just had 9 stitches in her hand, it was free. It did cost $50au for my G.P to remove the stitches but I get $35au back from the govt and could have had it done free at the hospital if I wanted to line up.

Oops my mistake it wasn't free, it was payed for by tax and a 'medi-care' levy that is payed by tax payers earning over a certain amount.

That's a massive chunk of change, SITS. My employer pays the same amount per week for me to the insurance company. A nice half and half thing At 48, I'm the youngest employee at the store. One of the guys I work with is 57 and he's paying almost twice what I am.

I pay for my insurance out of my own pocket. It's not part of a package that an employer sets up for employees, or anything like that. They have let it be known that would I ever stop that insurance, lapse in payments, or otherwise interrupt the money syphon in my pocket, they will refuse to insure me in the future.

On top of that, I have attempted to "shop around" for a better deal, and have been refused on the basis of "pre-existing conditions."

My pre-existing conditions?

1. Ten or fifteen years ago I had some trouble with my back and neck, which they "treated" by giving me an unlimited supply of Vicodin. After several months of stubling around in an opiated haze, I sought help from a chiropractor. (Insurance did not pay for that. It was cash up front only.) The chiropractic treatment helped quite a bit, but eventually that guy hurt me, put me into the emergency room by manipulating my spine in a manner that injured it. So I just learned to live with the pain, and eventually (ten years) the injury healed enough for me to live a fairly normal life.

2. I had a kidney stone. That resulted in three episodes, or "attacks" for lack of a better word, that put me into the emergency room. The first was extremely severe. The hospital run my my insurers is a 40 minute drive away. On the way, and only five minutes away, is a local hospital. As I drove to the insurance hospital, it became obvious that I couldn't possibly make it that far. Instead of passing the local hospital, I turned in there and utilized their services. The ER doctor there was able to quickly diagnose the problem for what it was, the kidney stone. The only thing that could be done in that circumstance was that I was administered morphine and just waited for the pain to subside. (Not a very pleasant experience, but I was given very good care in that ER.) The second episode also required pain treatment, but wasn't nearly as bad. The third was still less severe. In both of those episodes I was able to get to the more distant hospital without too much difficulty.

My insurer initially refused to re-imburse me for the nearly $3000 bill. I appealled, and they turned down the appeal. I scrutinized my contract, and it plainly stated that they were supposed to re-imburse me. I appealled again, and this time was told on the spot my appeal was turned down. I pointed out the contract, and told them that I would be filing a lawsuit in small-claims court, and would be contacting one of the local TV stations, who has a news segment that features "consumer issues" such as this. I urged them to reconsider. They told me they would re-examine the case and notify me within 48 hours. The next day I received a phone call telling me that they would re-imburse me fully. In the mean time, of course, I had to come up with the cash to pay for the ER costs.

My insurer than re-imbursed the local hospital, not me, so they were paid TWICE for that ER visit. Then my insurer told me I would have to seek re-imbursement from the local hospital. They initially refused, and then relented. I was re-imbused the amount that my insurer had paid them, which was about 70% of what it actually cost. I decided to cut my losses and put forth no further claims.

I'm guessing that considering the number of people involved, and the amount of time involved in this, it probably cost my insurer twice as much in administrative costs to subject me to this as it would to simply adhere to their contract. That fact, and they manner in which this all happened, suggests to me that this is a purposeful, routinely used tactic that often simply gets the patient to pay up when hit with this blizzard of red-tape.

The result of all of this is that it's likely I've been flagged as a less-than-desirable customer. And if my insurer decides to drop me, I'll then be faced with having no insurance and paying any health costs out of pocket. And because I actually have assets, it means that if my insurance is cancelled and I then have any serious health problem, it will cause bankruptcy.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is health care in the USA.

What a farce.

you hear horror stories like this to often
I guess you should consider yourself lucky
they didn't call you "totaled"and cut you a
check for $200,your current blue book price. lol