The Truth About Insurance…

…and Health Non-Care in Amerika

My readers know I’ve been following the latest developments in the “Health Care Crisis” in America, and the various Democratic candidates’ positions on that issue. I haven’t covered any Republican candidates’ positions because they basically don’t have any – just business as usual, which isn’t working to deal with the situation that most regular Americans are very acutely aware of.

I read a diary on DKos today that speaks to my underlying issue pretty well. Health Insurance Evils starts off with a tragic situation with the diarist’s 3-year old son who had a stroke in 1986 and died 4 years later. It’s definitely worth a read if you too have ever had to deal with an insurance claim that cost the insurer more than your annual payments for the policy added up to. That’s the kicker with the entire for-profit system of insurance, be it health, life or car insurance in this country. Once they start losing money on you, you’re outta here.

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CA Court Nails Insurance Scam

There is some slight good news on the health care front , which is encouraging after the bad news last week of Nataline Sarkisyan’s unnecessary Murder by Spreadsheet. A California appeals court has ruled that insurers cannot arbitrarily cancel health insurance policies when the covered person gets hurt or ill.

Yes, that does happen, and has been happening often enough over the past decade that the judicial system is now very much involved. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana further ruled that insurers cannot cancel policies unless they can demonstrate that the policyholder willfully misrepresented his health on the application, and that the insurer had investigated that application before issuing the policy.

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Grief in the Wake of Victory

The Health Insurance Scam Breaks

Yahoo News issued a release on Thursday evening (December 20) from the California Nurses Association touting the victory of their joint demonstration with the National Nurses Organizing Committee and the Armenian community at the CIGNA insurance offices in Glendale, California, CIGNA Capitulates to Patient Revolt…

In a stunning turn around, insurance giant CIGNA has capitulated to community demands, and protests that the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee helped to generate, and agreed to a critically needed liver transplant for Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old girl in the intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center, says CNA.

Meanwhile, activists from all over the country were spurred into inundating CIGNA’s phone lines throughout the day after learning of the situation and protest on websites like Daily Kos, My Space and others.

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Bush Vetoes SCHIP, Governors File Suit

Dems Struggling for Override Votes

For the fourth time during his reign of terror, George Bush used his veto pen to reject reauthorization and expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance program [SCHIP], in defiance of the wishes of a solid 72% majority of the American people and a Veto-Proof majority in the Senate on this completely bipartisan bill.

The 6.6 million children who were covered did have their coverage extended through November, the SCHIP funding from last year expired this past Sunday. The 4 million more children this bill would have covered are SOL, as usual.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are scrambling to come up with the two dozen extra votes they need to override the veto, but it’s not looking very hopeful. Senator Edward Kennedy weighed in over at Daily Kos with a challenge to the President, but then he’s a Senator holding a veto-proof majority on this legislation.

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Filed under Bush, For-Profit Insurance, Government Lawsuits, Health Care, Republicans, SCHIP, Veto | Comments (2)

House Votes to Ignore Bush SCHIP Threat

SCHIP Expansion Passed

As I reported last month when the Congress was on its summer vacation, President Bush promised in July to veto any legislation reauthorizing and expanding the State Children’s Insurance Program, a.k.a. SCHIP.

He’s stuck to that promise even as members of his own party – and a large swath of its right-wing ‘base’ – have turned on him over this issue. Many Congressional Republicans facing re-election next year have been getting an earful from the constituents back home about children’s health care and the millions of working poor and middle class children who are functionally uninsured. It’s a public health issue. It’s a moral issue. It’s a big political thorn in the side. But, as usual, Silver spoon George is deaf and dumb. There’s just something about providing health care to other people’s children he can’t stomach. And since he keeps reminding us that he’s the Decider-er, that’s that.

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