Private equity and insurance programs

[watu05]

One of the raps against single payer health insurance was the claim it would result in ’government death panels’ which would kill people by depriving them of health care. That claim ignores the private sector death panels driven by private equity and the profit motive which already infects our current system. Here’s yet another example of this process at work.

How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them
https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims

 

[TU 1978]

Cigna is the worst insurance company I’ve ever had to deal with. They were one of the early adopters of having doctors change the prescriptions of patients to a cheaper and often more detrimental medicine. In my wife’s case, the change of medication mandated by Cigna wound up placing her in the hospital for several weeks. After she was finally discharged, Cigna stated they would not cover her hospital stay. I documented the history of their being the root cause for the hospitalization and protesting their decision. The hospital told me not to worry about it, that it was a problem with Cigna.

A year and a half later I had changed to another medical insurance provider at work and received mail from Cigna that they were finally paying the hospital. I’ve heard other horror stories about them so I have avoided them for my insurance in retirement.

 

[watu05]

My friends in private equity are uncomfortable with this trend, but point out that it is highly profitable, especially because of the ability to carry debt.

Who employs your doctor? Increasingly it's a private equity firm.

 

[aTUfan]

health insurance went south when the gov got involved.