(I apologize if this was covered but I searched and didn't find anything related to this)
Washington Post released this article showing the result of trying to implement government sponsored health care for all is already making the Insurers scared.
For the first time, the two major insurance giants have offered to phase out their traditional rules of charging more for health insurance based on your medical history.
In an effort to try to prevent government sponsored health care to reaching the masses, two major insurance companies, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, have announced they are planning on phasing out their traditional rules of charging more for people based on their medical history.
For those that are chronically ill, or even with conditions like Diabetes or Autism, getting health coverage can be costly or downright impossible.
"The offer here is to transition away from risk rating, which is one of the things that makes life hell for real people," said health economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation public policy center. "They have never in their history offered to give up risk rating."
This is very interesting to see unfold because it shows that we are putting the fear back into these corporate giants.
"This changes everything," said Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, the leading trade group. "When you have everyone in the system, and you can bring (financial) assistance to working families, then you can move away health status rating."
But of course, they wouldn't be a good corporation unless they gave themselves a little wiggle room. As this is good news for some, others will be left out of the cold:
The companies left themselves several outs, however. The letter said they would still charge different premiums based on such factors as age, place of residence, family size and benefits package.
And importantly, the industry did not extend to small businesses their offer to stop charging the sick higher premiums. Small employers who offer coverage can see their premiums zoom up from one year to the next, even if just one worker or family member gets seriously ill.
To be clear, I don't want the fight for Universal Care to be lost as it will be most beneficial to all Americans, but I'm glad that we are seeing real fear for once in these Giants that have screwed us for way too long.
For some reason, this story was buried online. So far, I haven't seen much being reported on this story. I would love to hear what the kossacks think.