They’re The Mafia

Posted on 08/19/2009 at 1:44 pm by Bob Cesca

John Cole echoes Congressman Weiner:

Hell, I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what value the insurance companies add at all. Seems like all they do is skim money off the top, add layers of paperwork, and then screw people when they get a serious illness.

Theoretically, their purpose is to bridge the gap between what a patient can reasonably afford and the actual cost of healthcare, which is very expensive and only within the out-of-pocket grasp of the super wealthy.

However, health insurance premiums are no longer affordable; health insurance policies aren’t reliable; patients (all of us) are paying more and more of these exorbitant healthcare costs out of pocket; coverage is being flat-out denied; and health insurance corporations are making larger profits and executives are raking in larger salaries.

It’s the Mafia. The original intent of the mob was to offer protection in exchange for a tribute or fee. That stopped sometime on or around World War II and the Mafia became all about collecting the fee or else, and often “busting out” the people they’re supposed to be protecting. So there you go.

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  • ec

    It has been awhile since I have read theoretical microeconomics papers, but I believe that the purpose of insurance companies is to spread risk of loss among its risk averse customers.The companies are supposed to take a fee for this service. The problem is that the companies have decided to shift most of the risk to their customers while creating the illusion of spreading risk and they are taking ever growing fees for this service.Yesterday, on NPR, I heard a 79 year old woman say that she had been paying Blue Cross/Blue Shield for over 40 years without ever needing any services. She said that now that she needs the benefits, she realizes how terrible her coverage is.

  • brutlyhonest

    As long as the purpose of the healthcare industry is to make obscene profits – and not provide actual care – we’ll continue to get what we have now.

  • Okie

    Now if we crazy lefties had half of the savvy of the screechers we would latch onto this as the reform theme and push it relentlessly. Calling the insurance companies “the mafia” paints a simple, easily digested picture that even the most thick-headed rubes can understand. Now, why don’t we start pushing the progressive talking heads to use this?! That’s how the right works…find a simple theme (death panels) and they all stick to the message in all their media appearances. Simple.

  • http://politicalpartypooper.wordpress.com/ Political Party Pooper

    Yeah but Insurance companies could never frighten you the way the Mafia does cuz dey don’t talk like dis.

  • bibimimi

    “skim money off the top, add layers of paperwork, and then screw people…”Yep. That’s a protection racket from the shoes up.

  • http://peggystone263@msn.com peggygeorge

    The insurance paperwork itself is driving many doctors out of business. Young doctors can’t pay off student loans and afford the staff to deal with it; the older ones decide they’d rather retire than deal with it. A few are trying to opt out of the system and deal in cash where they are their own receptionist. For that reason alone, we need single payer.

  • NorCalNative

    First, I want to say that I’m proud of the role Bob Cesca’s playing on this issue.Cole’s point about the private insurance industry adding no value to the product needs national discussion.There is clearly a strenuous moral and ethical decay within a society that preys on its own citizens as a business model.That this business model is a product of a representative Republic is a sure sign of an apathetic and ill-informed society.Those who make a living off “RECISION” are scum. If you want to name that scum MAFIA, I don’t see any problem with that.What speaks more loudly to family values and Homeland Security than the health and well-being of our nation’s citizens? An actual living and breathing Republic wouldn’t stand for this bullshit for a second.Follow the MONEY!