Blue Cross Trying to Kill KEY Plank of Obama Plan....THE PUBLIC OPTION.
Last Friday, the health insurance industry showed how much contempt it has for Obamacare, the plan with the public option that Americans desperately need, especially in this time of crisis, then they are one illness away from total bankruptcy. And now THIS??? (see after the fold)
This is truly a time for alarm. If we're not vigilant about this it will fail. Remember what Obama asks of us: complacency will not get things done. It doesn't matter what your problems with Obama are, you must take action. And i say to those who would call me alarmist that you, especially, better be doing your part in this fight that has yet to be won after half a frakkin century. There is no common ground to be found with the health insurance industry. Don't be naive. They are required by law to make a profit. That's the primary point of their existence. PERIOD. We draw the line in the sand at a medicare like public option.
First two must reads before i get to BlueCross BlueSheild:
Harry and Louise Are Back: Insurers Planning on Double-Crossing Obama Jason Rosenbaum, Health Care for America Now
Professor Robert Reich yesterday, The Health Care Cave-In, How Democrats and Obama are caving in early on the Public Option.
Please also check out this diary by Slinkerwink It has phone numbers to the white house and all the senators, breaking them down in to the Dems and the Conservadems. At this point, not even all the Dems are supporting the Public Option. When you call they won't take your call unless you say you're from that state. They ask you for your name and zipcode, so look that up before you call. (and to those of you who have a problem with "lying", what's a little white lie against the forces of the banks and healthinsurers who own these puppets in congress? Obama cannot do anything without their vote, and they won't vote without your persuasion)
Washington Post: After Just One Week, North Carolina's Blue Cross Blue Shield Trying to Kill Key Plank of Obama Plan By Ceci Connolly
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is putting the finishing touches on a public message campaign aimed at killing a key plank in Obama's reform platform.
As part of what it calls an "informational website," the company has hired an outside PR company to make a series of videos sounding the alarm about a government-sponsored health insurance option, known as the PUBLIC PLAN. Obama has consistently maintained that a government-run plan, absent high-paid executives and the need for profits, could be a more affordable option for Americans who have trouble purchasing private insurance. The industry argues that creating a public insurance program will undermine the marketplace and eventually lead to a single-payer style system.
The article goes on to describe some of the campaign ads they're churning out:
In three 30-second videos, the insurer paints a picture of a future system in which patients wait months for appointments and can't choose their own doctors, according to storyboards of the videos obtained by the Washington Post.
One video titled "Waiting" shows a receptionist fielding a request from a patient enrolled in the new program.
"The government plan. Okay hold on...let me see what's available," the woman says into the telephone. On the screen, with the caller on hold, the receptionist rearranges items on her desk, looks at a wide- open calendar and then fibs: "It looks like the first time we can fit you in is in two-and-a-half months."
Another spot in the series, being developed by Capstrat media in Raleigh, shows a woman and child wandering down a darkened hospital doorway "as if they're starting to realize that they've lost their way," according to sketches of the video. "We can do a lot better than a government-run health care system," the narrator concludes.
Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesman Lew Borman said the videos are still in the draft stage. On the question of creating a public option to compete with private insurers, he said: "We believe an unchecked government-run plan would lower payment to doctors and hospitals, forcing them to attempt to charge private insurers more and thus further eliminate private insurers' ability to compete against the government."
On its Web site, Capstrat touts its "agility in turning complex issues into simple, powerful and persuasive stories." Company president Karen Albritton declined to comment.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has 3.7 million members and processed more than $10.7 billion in medical claims last year. Get a first look at the video storyboards here.
By the way, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina is a non-profit that receives its own special tax treatment under state law.
It pays its CEO Bob Greczyn $3.99 million in 2008, a $750,000 raise from 2007. Blue Cross is one of the biggest campaign contributors to state legislators campaigns and has a $100 million a year contract to administer the health plan for state employees.
We need some storyboards for that.
Blue Cross / Blue Shield is absolutely criminal about not paying or providing care for its members who really need it. The next thing Congress should do is prohibit "non-profits" from spending money on political advertisements, donations to political campaigns, or advocacy of any political cause lest they lose their non-profit status. And that goes for the outrageous pay and benefit packages for the swine whose only interest in the public welfare is to furnish their own pig pens (sorry pigs, you have more dignity than that!). Cap the pay and benefit packages NOW. They deserve to be replaced -- either with single-payer, or more reputable HMO's.
Congress should supoena medical records coders who work for the insurance industry to testify as to the pressure they are under to rip apart medical claims in order to deny coverage. Health reform should definitely focus on how "insurance" has controlled healthcare (or the lack of) and has driven up costs.
I was hired by BC/BS of FL and could not, in good conscience, justify the denial of claims to protect the profits of the company against honest, deserving consumers and resigned what I thought would be an honorable position.
I now need a job but not bad enough to work for the "mafia mentality" of the big insurance companies.
Again, please also check out this diary by Slinkerwink It has phone numbers to the white house and all the senators, breaking them down in to the Dems and the Conservadems. At this point, not even all the Dems are supporting the Public Option. When you call they won't take your call unless you say you're from that state. They ask you for your name and zipcode, so look that up before you call. (and to those of you who have a problem with "lying", what's a little white lie against the forces of the banks and healthinsurers who own these puppets in congress? Obama cannot do anything without their vote, and they won't vote without your persuasion)
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE DONATE TO HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW: : https://secure.healthcareforamerican...
Here's Cenk at Air America making the same point: