In a couple of hours, the insurance industry will roll out its shameless campaign of deceit in Columbus, Ohio.
And what exactly does bold faced deceit look like? Like this.
How do these liars sleep at night?
It is delivered to the American people courtesy of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). I haven't a clue why they've selected Columbus, but this is the venue where the despicable conning of America circa 2008 will begin. Think of this as Harry and Louise 2.0
This is a very dangerous con job--Al Capone would blush. Even he couldn't cook up something this atrocious. We should gawk, hiss, scream and not allow a second of their deliberate deceit to go unchallenged. That said, we underestimate the survival instinct of the insurance industry at our own peril. The message for today though is AHIP is literally off and rolling. The battle has begun.
Though many of us respectfully disagree with the overarching philosophy of Healthcare for America Now (HCAN), to their credit, they will be out in force protesting the parasites. This is good.
If you live in or near Columbus, you can get information about the protest here.
This isn't about HCAN, though, it's about AHIP.
But before we head into the sewer with AHIP, here's the sad scandalous truth about our broken healthcare system from the Commonwealth Fund.
Even more troubling, the U.S. health system is on the wrong track. Overall, performance has not improved since the first National Scorecard was issued in 2006. Of greatest concern, access to health care has significantly declined. As of 2007, more than 75 million adults—42 percent of all adults ages 19 to 64—were either uninsured during the year or underinsured, up from 35 percent in 2003. At the same time, the U.S. failed to keep pace with gains in health outcomes achieved by the leading countries. The U.S. now ranks last out of 19 countries on a measure of mortality amenable to medical care, falling from 15th as other countries raised the bar on performance. Up to 101,000 fewer people would die prematurely if the U.S. could achieve leading, benchmark country rates.
So what does AHIP have planned?
Something they dare to call outreach.
The unprecedented effort by America’s Health Insurance Plans, called the Campaign for an American Solution, includes a nationwide listening tour, advertising and an intense recruitment effort aimed at signing up Americans who are satisfied with their private insurance coverage. AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni plans to launch the campaign Tuesday by hosting a discussion among a group of uninsured people in Columbus, Ohio.
"On an issue as big and far-reaching as health care reform, you need to be working with real people and you need to have a reach outside the Beltway," AHIP spokesman Michael Tuffin told Politico in an interview outlining the industry’s strategy. "The issue isn’t going to be settled just by lobbyists in Washington. The American people are going to have their say."
The massive outreach is AHIP’s attempt to drive debate in a political climate that has had the industry on the defensive since Democrats took control of Congress last year.
http://www.politico.com/...
They will spread their lies and we will spread the true gospel. We will repeat over and over that AHIP preys on the American people, young and old, black, white, brown, male, female, the middle class--all of us-- and like a heroin dealer, it traffics in greed, despair, pain and financial ruin.
To spread the AHIP gospel and sign up true believers, the group has planned dozens of unscripted roundtables in cities from Albuquerque, N.M., and Denver to Boston and New York. The discussions will include union members, working families, faith and community leaders, and small-business owners and employees. The roundtables are an opportunity for the industry to hear feedback on its ideas, Tuffin said.
It's appalling to see people like Donna Shalala annointing this criminal group. But Donna's on the Board of UnitedHealth so it's easy to understand who and what she supports. Keep you eye on Donna and other questionable Democrats as we move forward. Hold their damn feet to the fire.
Group officials have been quietly briefing health care leaders about the coming campaign, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who gave it a positive review.
The industry’s efforts and others are crucial, she said, to push health care reform to the forefront of the presidential debate so that it becomes a top priority for the next administration.
"Look, [insurers] already have considerable clout. They don’t actually need to do this. I think they believe that they’re going to learn something by doing this," Shalala said. "They want to get a feel for how the public is feeling out there."
And what have we here? Beth Leonard who ran the Edwards campaign in New Hampshire. Shame on her. Shame on Donna Shalala.
Field staffers will organize volunteers and work with local leaders in up to 20 states. To run the grass-roots activity, AHIP hired Beth Leonard, who was John Edwards’ state director in New Hampshire during his recent presidential campaign.
The stories of health plan atrocities are never-ending. Canceling policies, wildly overpaying executives, rescinding policies retroactively, cutting coverage and physician compensation, delay, deny and deceive all in the name of one objective, profits.
Here's the ultimate laugh line.
Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for American Health Insurance Plans, said the focus of Tuesday's discussion is to create a "constructive dialogue with the people of Columbus and see how we can advance real solutions for health-care reform."
He brushed aside criticism of the industry's involvement in health-care reform and touted the services the industry provides.
"We are very proud of our record of paying claims and ... providing services that consumers want.
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
Zirkelbach is the dude who denied my request for a press pass to observe the workings of this organization at their San Francisco convention in June, and write about their proud record of service. What are they afraid of? The truth?
You can take it to the bank, that the traditional media will swoon and extol the virtues of the new kinder and gentler AHIP.
We cannot and will not allow this to happen.