This Is The Problem

Posted on 12/01/2009 at 8:09 am by Bob Cesca

BlueCross BlueShield continues to coerce and intimidate its customers into protesting healthcare reform:

A small business owner in the Kansas-City area who carries BCBS insurance for her employees forwards us a letter she received earlier this month from BCBS of Kansas City. The letter, from Tom Bowser, the CEO of BCBS-KC, describes the public option as an “unnecessary government intrusion in the private financing of health-care,” which will “cause millions to lose their current private coverage,” and will create “long waits for service with some providers closing their doors.” [...]

Bowser closes by telling recipients: “I am asking that you personally engage on these issues by calling or writing your member of Congress.” A sample letter to lawmakers, which expresses “deep concern” about reform, follows Bowser’s letter…..

This ought to be investigated and BCBS ought to be penalized. Much like the cartel as a whole, this is about coercing people based upon their will to live. The cartel capitalizes on the fact that humans don’t want to die, so it’s engaged in selling us life, and it knows that we’ll pay any price for it. So imagine being a customer receiving a letter like this. Do you ignore it, or do you send the letter for fear of BCBS dropping your policy?

In other words, this is exactly illustrative of a system that’s corrupt and broken — a system in which we’re all enslaved by a criminal enterprise that shamelessly engages in extortion and blackmail in order to turn a profit.

Example #1,456,723 why we need to crush these bastards.

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  • Jan

    We ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait til hcr is actually passed and they have 4 years to screw us.I don’t see alot in the bills to stop this either like say a freeze on premiums or at least a cap on how high they can raises them in the next 4 years.It’s a mess and only will get worse. No one seems to be talking about this scenerio either.

  • http://www.bobcesca.com Bob_Cesca

    @Jan: There are certain reforms that go into effect immediately. The clampdown will begin almost right away. That’s not to say there won’t be gaps, but it’ll be much more difficult for them to screw us after reform is passed.

  • skywriter1

    Echoing a much earlier comment on BobCesca.com predicting the future of what the insurance industry will do to get expensive patients off their rolls, as a high risk patient with a chronic condition (kidney transplant) BCBS has already started making themselves a nuisance to me.They’ve started sending me letters every time I go to the doctor’s office (once a month) claiming that I qualify for medicare (I don’t, since I’m 28 and not on dialysis) and that they won’t pay any claims until I fill out a long form certifying I dont qualify for medicare and mail it in to them. If I don’t mail it in within a small window of days, they will consider me having applied for medicare and off their rolls.Wonderful people, these.

  • eve

    My husband and I have a private policy from BCBS. I really hate this company, but our options were few. To make it affordable, we are only covered for a major health event.I cannot wait for the bill to pass so I can apply again to a couple of other companies without fear that I will be turned down. Husband was turned down by one company even though we are healthy, have NEVER had any major health problem, were on no medications and aren’t even allergic to anything.

  • -swift

    I have to have BCBS, because that’s the only option at work. I got a mailer that said basically the same thing. A larger than letter sized, card-stock, full color glossy printing mailer, telling me how much health care reform is going to cost. I guess they are pretty hard up for cash and couldn’t afford to send the message stamped on solid gold bricks.

  • http://nanotyrnns.blogspot.com/ Nanotyrannus

    “Not only are we using the money you give us for health care to lobby your members of Congress, we’d also like to enlist your help for the small price of scaring you shitless.Love and KissesBlue Cross Blue Shield”

  • likala

    A little OT, but I wish MSNBC would quit playing anti-health reform ads during Keith & Rachel. Since those are the only shows I can stomach anymore, it makes me furious. I also don’t think it’s necessary to see ad after ad about Palin’s book when Keith & Rachel are blasting it. It would be comical if I were in a comical mood. MSNBC makes me sick, money grubbers that they are.

  • bjritz

    Hey Bob and all Cescans,BCBSKC was my former employer. When I worked for them they were a great bunch of people. I know Tom Bowser, he is a soft spoken kind man. All that being said, when it came to health benefits as an employee they just turned into an insurance company. They were just as ruthless to employees on health care as to the general customer.The head doctor of denial was nicknamed Dr. Demento. He runs a tight ship of what we all need for care. He stands between me and my doctors. He is forcing me to “try” a generic of whatever my doctor prescribes before they’ll pay for branded prescriptions, even if my doctor disagrees.They are all about profit, even though they are a “not for profit” health care insurance company. They want to make money on investments in the speculative markets with your premium dollars. Last year they lost millions in the economic collapse.They are still my insurer with my new job. They are trying hard to make up the money lost last year by upping my premiums 9% and my HSA deductible by $700.00 (I know it’s the IRS who raised the high deductible plans to $3000 per family). They also raised my out of pocket maximum to $5000 this year from $2300 last year. I will spend that much, I did this year only I’ll be paying more than twice last year’s amount.When I asked the BCBSKC rep at our employee benefit introduction why it was raised, she passed it off on our company as making the choice to raise the rates.I know they are trying their best to both look good and be a death panel at the same time and it really sucks. If they weren’t married to the wall street money men and all the investments (read high yield securities junk) they would have had plenty of reserves. They are just going to go nuts gouging us all they can until as Tom Bowser and his ilk retire with their millions. I would think the demographic of the BCBSKC employees that these types of mailings would be flagged as flagrant waist and self serving propaganda, but they need their jobs too.I’m quite glad to be out of that racket.bjritz

  • http://www.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    Singing The BluesNon-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans would have to spend at least 85 cents of every premium dollar on health services or forfeit their special federal tax deductions. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this provision in the Senate bill would cost the Blues’ plans about $400 million over the next decade.Historically, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans received a tax-preferred status because they were created to provide a more significant “community benefit” than other insurance companies. But the Blues have come under increasing scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers and consumer watchdog groups for charging high rates, racking up profits (revenues over expenses) and paying top executives no differently than their for-profit insurance counterparts.Several Blues’ plans converted to for-profits in the past 15 years. Of the 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans nationwide, 24 are now non-profit.

    Source: Seven Things You Didn’t Know Were In the Senate Health BillQT