DudeKabob

People vs. Profits: The Great Health Insurance Myth

You all seem to have forgotten (and not all that long ago):

"CMA Advocacy Pays Off: United Health Care Faces Fines of More than $1.3 Billion for Unfair Practices"

And UNH STILL made a big profit for the quarter! Get real, people.


On Dec 15 10:08 AM YoYoMama wrote:

> Here is what I know about the author:
> 1. He is covered by a group plan of some sort.
> 2. He has never had to shop for personal health insurance.
> 3. He has never been through the underwriting process for personal
> insurance.
> 4. He has never, on personal insurance, had to fight the insurance
> company to pay a claim.
> 5. He does not have pre-existing conditions which exclude him from
> qualifying for personal insurance.
> 6. He does not have a child with pre-existing conditions.
> 7. He does not understand that rescission rates, according to insurance
> companies, is 15%, while independent studies show the rescission
> rate is more like 30%.
> 8. He does not understand that medical bankruptcies account for over
> 60% of all filings, and of those filers, over 75% HAVE INSURANCE.
>
>
> He is basing his argument on theory. The facts of how insurance operates
> is very different, and don't fit so neatly into his facts and figures.
>
>
> This is where those on group insurance (through employer) simply
> don't get it. There simply is no "approval" process for those on
> group insurance. You simply are granted your insurance, it pays your
> claims, and you think it works that way for everyone. Not true. Those
> on personal insurance live in a different world.
>
> First, qualifying for personal insurance in the first place. Ever
> hear of the underwriting process? This is where insurance takes a
> complete inventory of your health history, and then either accepts
> or denies you for coverage. It takes very little to get denied coverage.
> Does this demonstrate that insurance companies are ready and willing
> to pay on claims?
>
> When you are on group insurance, you are part of a larger employer.
> This grants you access to an HR department to assist with claim disputes.
>
>
> With personal insurance, there is NO ONE to hold the insurance company
> accountable to pay the claim. They basically have nothing to lose
> by violating their own policy. Having been on personal insurance
> for 7 years, I can tell you that they average they pay on claim is
> about 30%, although the policy states they are supposed to pay 80%.
> How can they do it? Well, who is holding them accountable? There
> is no HR department or large group to answer to. Does this demonstrate
> insurance companies are ready and willing to pay on claims?
>
> When you are on group insurance, you do not face rescission of your
> policy. You are guaranteed for coverage. Not so with personal insurance.
> You can pay on a policy for years, THEN get sick, and get your insurance
> cut off. The minimum rescission rate is 15%, and probably more like
> 30%. Does this demonstrate insurance companies are ready to pay on
> claims?
>
> How about those bankruptcy rates? If insurance companies are so willing
> to pay - and not deny - claims, how is it that the MAJORITY of medical
> bankruptcy filers HAVE INSURANCE.
>
> Sorry, Spartacus, but your article is theoretical nonsense. Margins
> for insurance are razor thin. How then, do you think, they are making
> any money? By paying out as little as possible on claims. And the
> "best" place for them to do so - where the risk for margin loss is
> slim - is the personal insurance arena.

12 Cheap Growth Companies

You mean the government telling someone they can't have a certain procedure as apposed to an insurance company telling them they can't have the procedure and that, by the way, "we've just cancelled your policy?"

You people who are against health care reform I fear have been waterboarded one too many times. Get real, and pull your heads out of the collective insurance industry shoveled sand (or whatever that is they're shoveling).


On Oct 26 10:20 AM The Geoffster wrote:

> What do you think the overhead will be with a government bureaucracy
> and how will Americans react to being told that they can't have that
> MRI or intestinal bypass?

Congress: Shortsighted About Financials

Like a lot of people appear to be doing, you're missing the point. When it comes to the AIG bonus, it's not about the money. Those who do bad shouldn't be rewarded. The money itself is ancillary to the justification for the outrage. Using your logic, attempted murder wouldn't be a crime because the intended victim is still alive.

Oh, Joy: Joy Global Hits Buying Point

No. "Buying Point" would have been last April. Duh!

The Great Volume Expansion

And...? Hello? Anyone home?

Swapping CSX for UPS

Isn't the headline of this article backwards? It's misleading, at any rate. Who edits this stuff, anyway?

Also, Pocono, I think "ignorant" would be a more appropriate word than "dumb."

On Jul 01 08:50 AM pocono wrote:

> WHAT A DUMB REASON TO SELL A STOCK

10 Upcoming Catalysts for ATP Oil and Gas

You've been dilluted. Now what?


On Jun 03 05:10 PM Devon Shire wrote:

> I don't know why they filed the shelf. I would be shocked if common
> shares were issued at these prices as management owns 20% of the
> company and would be diluted terribly.
>
> It is especially unlikely given the vendors picking up $300mil of
> drilling costs on Telemark to be repaid out of future production.
>
>
> Maybe they are looking at a pref share offering, they have used this
> in the past. Maybe they are just getting one filed so they can move
> quickly if the share price moves up significantly.
>
> Also consider they have other large sums of cash coming in over the
> next 9 months. Gomez pipeline $85mil, Titan MLP $260mil, Telemark
> pipeline $160mil. CFO as recently as today reaffirmed that these
> are going to happen.
>
> With the arrangement for vendor pick up of drilling costs today and
> their 20% stake in the game I am inclined to think that I'm not going
> to be diluted.
>
> And the amazing thing is that even if I am, half of the $87 I think
> these shares are worth is still $40 plus with huge dilution.
>
> Thanks for the comment.

10 Solid, Clean Companies Ready for Stimulus, And 5 That Aren't

I'm trying to think of a company that DOESN'T depend on the consumer. All companies - indeed, all economies - depend on the consumer. Without a consumer, there would be no reason to produce a thing. Every time I hear someone complain that the U.S. economy is dependent on the consumer, as if were some sort of unique and singular curse, I question what is really being said, or if the person speaking has any real notion of what it is that makes an economy function.

Cramer's Stop Trading! Dimon in the Rough (12/11/08)

Let's see. . . Should we take financial advice from Jim Cramer, or from "Herbert Hoover"? I wonder. . .

On Dec 12 08:23 AM Herbert Hoover wrote:

> Cramer is an idiot.