Where's the Pony?
Oh, wait, it's a Trojan Horse!
Posted on behalf of Doxy, whose "Open Letter" is just too good not to go viral:
My thanks to Bwakfat for suggesting I put Doxy's letter up on a blog.
__________________________________
Update:
Message from Doxy, which makes this post even more poignant and your response here even more wonderful! From a comment to me on her blog:
Posted on behalf of Doxy, whose "Open Letter" is just too good not to go viral:
Please send this everywhere! All the credit goes to Doxy (and do not miss her follow-up post that I just linked!).Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina--My Open Letter to My Scumsucking Insurance Company
When I collected my mail today, I had this piece from my friendly health insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina:
Here is my response:
Dear Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina:
Who wants Federal government intervention in the private health insurance market? I do!
I want a public option. In fact, I want more than a public option--I want single-payer healthcare. Want it more than a kid wants candy at Halloween and presents at Christmas. Want it even more than I wanted a pony when I was 8.
Why? Because I think healthcare is a human right, and I don't think it should be a profit-making venture. Because I think insurance is nothing more than legalized extortion-and I'm tired of having my pockets picked, only to be told that you won't cover X,Y, or Z. Oh, and by the way...you're raising my premiums by nearly 30%.
You bill yourself as "nonprofit," which may make some gullible people think you are looking out for their best interests. But I know better. I've done my homework, and I've found the numbers:I've got to hand it to you, BCBSNC. You've got chutzpah. You can corner the state health insurance market, make millions in "nonprofits," pay your executives whopping salaries, raise my premiums while cutting my benefits--and still find a way to spend my hard-earned money trying to get me to lobby against my own best interests!
- In 2008, you paid your top 9 executives a total of $13, 369,133 in salaries, bonuses, and other compensation. That averages to $1,485,459 per person. You gave your top execs raises that ranged from 20%-32% that year.
- According to the same regulatory filing, in 2008, you paid the 13 members of your Board of Directors a total of $494,459--an average of $38,035. Just for comparison, according to the U.S. Census bureau's most recent data (2005), the average salary for a family of 4 in North Carolina was $59,481. That means that a BCBSNC director made 64% of a NC family's YEARLY income for attending 5 meetings a year.
- You reported profits of $186 million in 2008---and raised our premiums in the worst economy in living memory. (I'm still trying to figure out how a "nonprofit" has profits....)
- You have a 72.5% market share of individual and employer-provided health insurance in North Carolina. That means, for many North Carolinians, you are the only game in town---the 800 lb. gorilla no one can ignore.
But you forgot one thing...I'm not a mindless FOX News drone and I'm not easily manipulated. I had been feeling tired and worn out with the whole healthcare debate--but your little mailing gave me an energy boost!
You see, I have my Senator's and Representative's phone numbers programmed into my phone. They both got calls today about the mailing you sent me. I doubt you'll be happy about what I said.
And that postage-paid postcard you wanted me to send to Senator Kay Hagan? The one that asked her to "please oppose government-run health insurance" because it would allow the government to compete "unfairly" with the private sector? I crossed out your message and wrote her asking her to support a true public option.
It gave me great satisfaction to know that you'll be paying a few cents of the money you have extorted from me over the years to lobby against YOUR best interests. It also gave me great pleasure to discover that I'm not alone, and that others are taking action too.
We take our victories where we find them.
Sincerely,
Doxy
My thanks to Bwakfat for suggesting I put Doxy's letter up on a blog.
__________________________________
Update:
Message from Doxy, which makes this post even more poignant and your response here even more wonderful! From a comment to me on her blog:
TheraP--I am really honored! I've had over 1,100 hits on that post since Tuesday. That's pretty amazing!What a fitting tribute to her friend. I am just deeply, deeply moved by all of this.
The only post I've ever done that surpassed it was my post about my friend Terri-Lynn, whose untimely death is what got me so energized about healthcare reform to begin with.
By publicizing this so beautifully, you are helping me to honor her memory. And for that, I am truly grateful.
Pax,
Doxy
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Please direct your comments to the writer of this letter. She deserves all the credit.
I am well. Peace to all.
October 29, 2009 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is great, Thera! Thanks for posting. I've been pretty quiet lately, but this really deserves a shout-out.
October 29, 2009 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well-placed snark.
October 29, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Outstanding!
October 29, 2009 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is great! Thanks, Thera - good to see you around here.
October 29, 2009 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
SHE'S BACK. ha!!!
I love this. HEALTH INSURERS, IGNORE AT YOUR RISK.
October 29, 2009 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good to see you, folks! :-)
October 29, 2009 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great to see you Thera! Great letter too.
October 29, 2009 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well said!
October 29, 2009 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Insurance: Legalized, government sanctioned (and sometimes mandated) extortion.
Thanks Thera
C
October 29, 2009 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
And mandatory purchase of coverage without public options = welfare for the insurance industry.
October 29, 2009 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't this crap why we now are considering the public option again? The insurance companies should have laid low and let the PO slowly die, but nope: They go out there, spread half-truths and make people angry.
Just desserts for the idiots. Now we are debating a medium strong vs. kind of strongish PO, and I think that the insurance industry brought it upon themselves.
Cool.
October 29, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
by "crap", I mean the BCBS mailer, not the response.
October 29, 2009 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fantastic! Thanks for bringing this to our attention! :)
October 29, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just keeping PCA's blog alive a bit longer:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/pseudocyants/2009/10/a-little-help-from-my-friends.php
October 29, 2009 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes - this was on the front page of the News and Observer (out of our capitol, Raleigh) yesterday.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/161435.html
Very nice to see your voice, Thera.
October 29, 2009 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gee, why would anyone be so uncharitable toward an insurance company like BCBSNC? After all, they don't have profit margins as large as some other industries and you can just ask anyone working for the industry and they'll tell you that really only a small portion of the cost problem is attributable to the insurance companies. We really shouldn't let our emotions get in the way of a balanced analysis of the full healthcare picture.
Yes, of course it's snark!
Thanks Thera!
October 29, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
For a moment I thought Fred had stolen your avatar!
October 29, 2009 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
:)
October 29, 2009 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh ho ho
October 29, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Awesome. Thanks for sharing. I'm doing my itty bitty part to help it go viral...
October 29, 2009 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't it blatant arrogance that they would enlist their victims with their own premiums to write their Congress to perpetuate their own abuse?
Non-profit, my ass!!!
It sure is motivating to get something so provocative. Did they send it with their bill for premiums.
BTw, that trigger option. They already pulled the trigger and that is how we got to where we are now!!! The trigger option is the one-more-chance-to-screw-us option!!!
October 29, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for this, Thera.
October 29, 2009 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Thera.
So glad to *see* you. . .
October 29, 2009 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It warms the cockles of my heart to see you all! Blessings upon you. Love and Misses. :-)
October 29, 2009 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thera - To answer a question you asked in your post, a non-profit corporation is legally defined as one devoted primarily to providing a service in the public interest - in this case health insurance coverage - and therefore enjoys special tax status. The legal definition does not preclude profit-making, but rather is based on the nature of the service provided. Many BC/BS plans originally started exclusively to fulfill a public need for affordable insurance, and utilized community rating to establish premiums irrespective of subscriber health status. They have recently gravitated more and more in the direction of emulating for-profit corporations, and some have explicitly converted into for-profit entities. Even those that retain non-profit status typically inflict the same inequities on the public as the for-profit insurers - e.g., cherry-picking, discriminatory rates for pre-existing conditions, and an increasing degree of insulation from the wishes of the subscribers who theoretically should be able to control them.
For more details, visit the following site and the links therein -
http://www.consumersunion.org/conv/conversions_101/nonprofit_health_sector_history_and_trends/index.html
October 29, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, Fred. The letter, however, was not mine. The writer had given permission to spread it far and wide.
Blue-Cross/Blue-Shield is no longer a non-profit in our area. Haven't been for years. That may have changed elsewhere without people even recognizing it.
I agree, however, that "non-profit" has become an elastic term, like so much else that's gone wrong in this nation....
Sigh.... (and thanks!)
(You may want to post that info at the blog link above. That way they'll get to the person who wrote the letter.)
October 29, 2009 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Um, not really. More like they created the need. In the 1920s, people relied on patent medicines and didn't generally go to see doctors unless they were in dire need.
BCBS was started in 1929 by a teacher who offered 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year, which was later offered to other professionals. The reason it caught on was because the U.S. was taxing wages and at war, so in order to attract decent workers, industry turned to other methods of compensation.
Some folks have taken to calling our health system an accident of history, That may be taking it too far. Although I must say, you are trying way too hard to attribute accountability and good motivations where none actually exist. The HI lost any semblance of that around 1948. Gubmint corrected the false impression that they were in the biz to do good, and revoked their tax exempt status in 1986, (and it was far past time.) Insurance is simply making money off sick people, and it's kind of gross. Most Americans have woken up to this fact. I do wish you would. It is very much an easy moral question.
Please knock off the disinformation, it really annoys me.
Also.
October 29, 2009 9:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen! :)
October 29, 2009 9:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please see the Consumers Union link I cited earlier. If you believe they are disseminating misinformation, you should write to them explaining your argument, and perhaps share their reply with us.
October 29, 2009 10:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Their link had to do with the history of Health insurance?
I think not.
I can cherrypick as well as the next guy. If you object to my clarification on your inaccurate summary, perhaps you can explain where you disagree, rather than blowing smoke as usual. The tactic is kinda slimey...
Like Insurance companies.
October 29, 2009 10:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bwak at her best! :-)
October 29, 2009 11:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suppose that depends on your definition.
October 30, 2009 6:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure Bwak bothered to visit the Consumers Union site with its links to the history of BC/BS, but I believe anyone who does go there will confirm the complete accuracy of what I wrote above. Here is the link to the specific historical data from the Consumers Union page:
http://www.consumersunion.org/conv/conversions_101/nonprofit_health_sector_history_and_trends/Blue%20Cross%20History%20Compilation.pdf
Anyone interested should read the entire segment, but here are a few excerpts:
"Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across the country were created with the intention of providing affordable health care coverage in the nonprofit context with a community focus. The plans were established to fill significant holes in the health care system. They were created and promoted by the community, acting in the public benefit...
Virtually all the Blue Cross plans were established with "community rating instead of rates based on an individual's health status to price their products." Throughout the country, these charitable corporations offered "the same rates to all subscriber groups regardless of age, sex, occupation"
These excerpts confirm the main points I made above, and the article further confirms the additional point that BC/BS plans subsequently strayed far from their original purpose.
Finally, I don't mind if others dispute what I write, even if they turn out to be wrong, as in this case, but I object to words like "slimey", "disinformation" and other ad hominem attacks. It's possible to disagree while remaining civil.
October 30, 2009 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is the standard accusation for moderates around here, democratic and republican alike. I have found most of your posts to be very factual, whether I agreed or not.
There are so many ways to parse "reality" that I try not to assume I have an exclusive lock on describing its face, but that doesn't mean moderates are any less certain of their opinions.
I find this reflective lashing out at anything that looks different, on the left and right, to be emblamatic of the true nature of our disease.
October 30, 2009 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just had a check-up. If my physician is any indication, the doctors are more angry with the insurance companies than are their patients.
October 29, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll bet you're right. But doctors simply don't have it nearly as bad as pharmacies. Part of the reason health care costs are so high is because of the number of unnecessary tests ordered by doctors.
The fees paid to a doctor from an insurance company are very small... So, the more proceedures and tests they run, the more fees they can collect.
This also explains why they try to run through as many patients as possible (and subsequently spend very little time with any patient)...
In pharmacy we don't have that luxury. It's not like we can decide to fill more Scripts. ALSO we simply do not get paid for "Counseling" patients. If a pharmacist takes 15 minutes advising you on your medication, there is NO WAY to bill the Insurance Company for the service. (Doctors can bill for consultations). Pharmacies can't really come up with new services to bill insurance companies... We are stuck with whatever DISMAL reimbursement the insurance company wants to pay us. The end.
(It's actually worse than that... but you get the idea)
I can tell you that it is NOT easy being an independent pharmacy. Our margins are VERY slim and getting slimmer all the time. We don't have a powerful lobby (like doctors do) to help us out... and we are at the end of that chain...
As pissed as the doctors are (and they have some reason to be) it's not like they don't get paid... and it's not like they can't increase their payments through creative testing and CYA arguments to justify them...
-----
Sorry to have taken off on a rant.
Sorry to have hijacked the thread.
:)
October 29, 2009 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good points all!
October 29, 2009 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
So good to see you again Thera.
As to the letter: I'm not convinced that a public option and the free market are at odds at all. In fact, I think that a truly free market entails something like an "opt-out".
Any legitimate price system is set by consumer choices. When a substantial portion of citizens are unable to reach the status of 'consumer', then the price system can never gauge itself properly. Consumers are people. And when only some people -- rather than all people -- count as consumers, then the price system is, by definition, off.
I would pose this question to conservatives: the law of supply and demand presupposes choice -- options. How can you simultaneously defend free market principles and yet thwart free market practices?
October 29, 2009 4:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
TheraP! Howdy!
BC/BS of Michigan also just raised their premiums 22%. Plus, earlier in the year they pink slipped 1000 employees to cut costs. Apparently, so the CEO could keep his raise.
From the Detroit Free Press, May 19, 2008.
October 29, 2009 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
My thanks to you, TheraP. And thanks also to Doxy. Posted this to fbook.
October 29, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you see this comment, please also post a link to WHY Doxy wrote as she did - the loss of a friend due to poverty and lack of health care. (See the update above)
And her link to the elegy for her friend and her outrage at those who cannot care about such people: http://wormwoodsdoxy.blogspot.com/2009/05/elegy.html
Good to see you. Thanks for passing this along.
October 30, 2009 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, done.
October 30, 2009 5:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for posting this Thera, it made my day :)
October 29, 2009 6:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fantastic, both you and doxy.
October 29, 2009 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greetings all! So glad this letter was a hit! And special thanks to bwak.... who twisted my hand a bit to get this posted. (Not really... but given my immense respect for bwak... well, it worked!)
October 29, 2009 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm so glad you posted.
=D
I've already sent it out to my addy book, posted it in chat, and gotten a few responses saying they'll send it on, (one co-worker from NC said she'd send it to all her NC friends!!)
Good job Thera. This place is happy today, cuz you is here.
If I got a letter like this, I'd tape it to a pitchfork. A big ol rusty one newly sharpened.
October 29, 2009 9:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
ROTFLOL! Kudos, my friend! I gibs you all da credit!
October 29, 2009 9:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, lets not be silly, sweetie. I am so glad you found this and shared it.
As you can see, it's struck a nerve, and I do so hope it goes 'viral'
=D
October 29, 2009 10:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
We've made a good start! (And take a look at the update, the reason, why Doxy has written with such passion here!
Yes, good thing I got the link that led me to her blog on this! But you goosed me along to post this!! :-)
October 29, 2009 11:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
It makes me so furious that these arrogant thirteen letter verb beginning with "M" swine are spending my premium dollars on this that it damn near gives me a stroke. Which would, of course, be a preexisting condition.
October 29, 2009 9:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
TheraP, thanks for passing this along! You and Doxy rock!
Kenneth Thomas
October 30, 2009 3:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thera, so glad you are back! I hope you are doing better.
always
Mac..
oh and rec'd of course.
October 30, 2009 9:20 AM | Reply | Permalink