CIGNA, Fidelity Investments and the Reality of the Precarious Nature of Health: Why We Need Reform

For now, this will be my last posting as Paul and I are moving forward with our new non-profit (more on that at the end of this posting).  Over the last few months, I have learned quite a lot and, I hope, I have shed the light of reason and sanity on a few things for you as well, kind readers. 

For instance, how anti-reform protest really has its roots in sponsorship from billionaires who don't worry about how to pay for their health care, how GOP politicians who are supposedly serving their public receive much campaign finance money from health care special interests and how the GOP has offered no reasonable plan for reform.  Like this, this,  this and this.

This blog started as a result of CIGNA's denial of our coverage.  My husband became too ill to work and we thought, rightfully, our disability insurance policy would cover us.  After all, he has Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease. Disability insurance, as I have demonstrated, is an enormous corporate scam.  A gigantic money-making scheme for the health insurance industry and one where they have no intention of actually following through on their contractual obligations.

It's cheaper for the health insurance industry (makes Wall Street happy) to let you file an ERISA claim in Federal Court and maybe one of the judges they have in their back pockets will be there to help them find a way not to pay you.

They hope for one of two things, 1. To wear you (the sick person with no income) down to where you give up or;  2. You will settle for less than the amount of the policy.  Either way, they come out ahead and you, the disabled, sick or injured person, come out stepped upon by a large, faceless, inhumane corporation, jobless and without any recourse since insurance is exempt from federal anti-trust laws. You cannot seek assistance from the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection agency for example.

Health and disability insurance are not about your health or seeing you get better.  Insurance is about profits. And you, premium-paying consumer, get in the way of that.

Illness happens.  It's the luck of the draw; the throw of the dice in the great genetic crap shoot that is humanity.  We thought we were protected.  After all, we did the right things: had disability insurance, we even purchased extra, special, in-case disability coverage.  My husband worked hard at his new job.  He even worked in a new position at Fidelity Investments all through his chemotherapy treatments.

And while I'm at it with Fidelity, I learned something else.  The management of Fidelity is so insulated from the people who work for them, from their own clients even, and are so paranoid they hire companies like Cyveillance (who use free Google searches as part of their "internet monitoring" and "sophisticated intelligence gathering") a regular visitor to my site, to keep up with what is being said about them on the internet.  My site?  This blog, written by a woman whose husband has Multiple Sclerosis and was forced into signing a separation agreement with Fidelity or allow his health to suffer? I shudder at my own dangerous self.

Fidelity can sponsor a million MS Bike-a-Thons, but their actions with my husband speak volumes about how they really feel about Multiple Sclerosis. Not in my backyard, comes to mind.

Here's an investment tip: Many socially responsible funds do way better than Fidelity funds.  Check them out for yourself.  Start here. Put your money where people count first.

What Paul and I didn't quite grasp, even in the face of CIGNA's denials, was how insurance companies will do absolutely anything to not have to pay their claims.  You really have no idea of this unless you have experienced it yourself.  I would have never believed it myself, it is that surreal.  We are living proof of their unethical and inhumane behavior.  In my blog, I have brought to attention all kinds of claims that CIGNA has refused to pay.  They have a particular habit of not paying disability claims to people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Facing a $1400 per month COBRA payment while unemployed is insane. And that's why Health Care Reform needs to pass now, because we should not be faced with this payment while unemployed nor should we be so scared, as we are, to never have coverage again because with Paul's illness, no private health insurer will ever cover him.  Why?  Having Multiple Sclerosis can be expensive.  Is that a good reason to keep someone from receiving health care, America?

But now it's time for me to do more than just write this blog.

Paul and I have started our own foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) that will, for now, focus on helping all people with Multiple Sclerosis.

It's the Multiple Sclerosis Activism Foundation, and our aim is twofold.  First, we hope to be a resource for questions or issues regarding MS, care, treatments, doctors who specialize in MS or any issue you have that can't be easily answered.  We are here to help you.  And if we don't have the answers, we will get you to where you need to find the answers.  We'll do the work for you.  It's a dizzying maze of information out there and we will act as filters and conduits to the correct answers and sources of information.

Second, we are aiming to affect policy when it comes to people with MS and other chronic, debilitating conditions.  We do not just want to take a "stand" on a position, we want to affect change as well.  And this takes your voices.  Let us know your issues, questions and stories.  We are here to get your voice heard, to help and to make things better for all people with disabilities.

Finally, our Constitution, which has been thrown around by so many of the anti-reform protesters, the GOP and the Hair-Bumped One's fans as their reason for everything that emanates from their mouths, especially anti-health care reform rhetoric, has made me wonder if these people have even read it.  The Preamble clearly states (click on the links for historical context):

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Promote the general Welfare.  That means addressing our national happiness, health and well-being.  It means it's time to get out of the dark ages of serfs (us) and feudal lords (insurance industry) and take over a program that should not have profit as its most basic of motives.

The Foundation's website will be coming shortly.  In the meantime, if you have questions, want your story heard, have a way to help or just want to tell us you are glad we are here, you can reach the MS Activism Foundation at (310) 363-0197.

Fight for Health Care Reform, it's a right you deserve as a citizen of these United States.

I Hope Fidelity is Getting Their Money's Worth--Geesh

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Social Security and Medicare and the Socialist/Communist/Fascist/Marxist Presidencies of Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson

President Johnson signing the Medicare program into law.

As Social Security and Medicare, two very important programs for our national well-being (see the preamble to the Constitution), were being introduced as bills, they were treated with the same revile and unsound arguments against them as Health Care Reform is being treated today.  

Below is beginning text from the Social Security Act signed into law August 14, 1935 by President Roosevelt.

An Act

To provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes.

Here are the same arguments AGAINST the Social Security Act that are going on today about Health Care Reform.

The resulting Senate and House bills encountered opposition from those who considered it a governmental invasion of the private sphere and from those who sought exemption from payroll taxes for employers who adopted government-approved pension plans.

Yes, that argument  "governmental invasion of the private sphere," was all over the place in 1934-35.  Can you imagine the uproar seniors and others who receive these benefits of this "government invasion" if Social Security and Medicare were suddenly taken away?  Can you then imagine the lines for food assistance programs then doubling after benefits were revoked?  Of the indignity of having to seek out assistance and charity at an elderly age when you have been a good citizen and paid your taxes, maybe even served in our Armed Forces?  At any age for that matter, in this, the richest nation in the world.

Health care reform has been tossed about our national psyche for a while now.  In 1945, President Truman wanted to enact a National Health Care Plan.  For the full text of President Truman's message to Congress see here.

In his message, Truman argued that the federal government should play a role in health care, saying "The health of American children, like their education, should be recognized as a definite public responsibility." One of the chief aims of President Truman's plan was to insure that all communities, regardless of their size or income level, had access to doctors and hospitals.

And,

The most controversial aspect of the plan was the proposed national health insurance plan. In his November 19, 1945 address, President Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance fund to be run by the federal government. This fund would be open to all Americans, but would remain optional.

An optional plan?  How did that go over with the special interests?

The American Medical Association (AMA) launched a spirited attack against the bill, capitalizing on fears of Communism in the public mind. The AMA characterized the bill as "socialized medicine", and in a forerunner to the rhetoric of the McCarthy era, called Truman White House staffers "followers of the Moscow party line."

Socialism and Communism, sound familiar?  See Tea Baggers of today for all kinds of mixed ideological name-calling. President Obama is everything from a Fascist, Marxist, Socialist to Communist--did I leave any "ists" out?

The Medicare Act was signed into law by President Johnson, July 30, 1965.  The full text of President Johnson's speech here. President Truman, who was there to witness the signing was the first man to sign into the Medicare Program had this to say;

This is an important hour for the Nation, for those of our citizens who have completed their tour of duty and have moved to the sidelines. These are the days that we are trying to celebrate for them. These people are our prideful responsibility and they are entitled, among other benefits, to the best medical protection available. Not one of these, our citizens, should ever be abandoned to the indignity of charity. Charity is indignity when you have to have it. But we don't want these people to have anything to do with charity and we don't want them to have any idea of hopeless despair.

And,

Mr. President, I am glad to have lived this long and to witness today the signing of the Medicare bill which puts this Nation right where it needs to be, to be right.

With the same arguments being flung all over the place as the ones that were being used today, one has to question where these arguments really come from?  From the Tea Baggers themselves who are calling President Obama a Fascist/Socialist/Marxist just like their counter-parts did to Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson?  Well, we've certainly had a lot of Communists/Socialists elected to the White House then, and imagine, ones who did things like sign Social Security and Medicare into law?  The horror!

Or do these arguments against a National Health Plan or at the very least, a Public Option, come from private insurers who have fought so hard to keep their money train rolling ahead at full speed at the expense of all ill Americans?  More information about the Social Security Amendment for the Medicare Act here.

Private insurers had long considered this illness-prone population a "bad risk.” A broad debate about the need for a social insurance program to provide older Americans with reliable health care coverage started within the Social Security Administration and in Congress. Public hearings were held, and the House of Representatives considered several proposals, but the debate did notintensify until 1960, when it became clear that private insurers were becoming increasingly incapable of providing comprehensive, affordable health care coverage to the rapidly growing population of older adults.

This time, let's not allow a handful of corporate rapists such as CIGNA, Aetna, WellPoint, UnitedHealth and all the others, the upper hand on how we, as a nation, look after our general well-being.  Stand up for reform.  It's in your best interests to look at our past, learn from it and see that all the vile rhetoric around Health Care Reform is as hollow and shallow as the people who speak it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you have a job which gives you employer-subsidized insurance, be thankful.  If you are a member of the House or Senate and you are for helping millions of Americans without insurance coverage, I'm thankful.  Again, members of Congress be thankful for the wonderful insurance program you have called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and think about extending that program to all your fellow citizens, Ben, Blanche, Mary and Joe.  See how government sponsored health insurance can be good?

If you are on Medicare, be thankful, it's a good program.  If you are on Medicare and protesting against reform, take stock of yourself and rethink what it is you are protesting against--your own health care coverage?  

Happy Thanksgiving and a special Thanksgiving greeting to all our armed service men and women everywhere and especially to those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chicago Tea Patriots and Catherina Wojtowicz, a Display in a Complete Lack of Humanity, Compassion, Morality and Patriotism

I was watching Countdown last night and Mr. Olbermann's Worst Person in the World came as a real eye-opener to me.  I understand that the tea baggers are tools of the insurance industry, they don't know what they're protesting against but they're within their right to protest. What I didn't comprehend was how vile and bigoted they have become; where holding up their fellow citizens to ridicule because they were unfortunate enough to have died due to lack of health insurance, is an okay thing to do in their minds.

My eyes welled up with tears over the following incident. But before I get to the incident, I want you to see who this Worst Person in the World is and what she's all about. Her name is Catherina Wojtowicz and she claims to be a Community Organizer for Chicago's south side. Her apparent lack of leadership skills begs the question, "How did she get to that position?"



Now to the incident.  Here we have Midge Hough telling her story to this crowd of buffoons and idiots (Ms. Hough was laughed at by this group for telling how her daughter-in-law died).  They were spurred on by the classless Catherina Wojtowicz who sent out flyers about Rep. Lipinski and how he sold out to "socialized medicine."  Ms. Wojtowicz, you don't even know what "socialized" or "medicine" means let alone reference it in flyers.

What else did Ms. Wojtowicz do?  She sent out an email to her group of rabid followers about Midge Hough, claiming she falsified her story about her daughter-in-law Jenny and her unborn child.

In an e-mail, she called them operatives of President Barack Obama who "go from event to event and (cry) the same story. 

Ms. Hough's daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild both died due to lack of insurance because pregnancy is a "pre-existing condition."  Way to go Ms Wojtowicz, you are truly a vapid, idiotic tool of the health insurance industry that will see you dead before they have to pay you a claim.  You are not a leader, not an organzier of Chicago's Mount Greenwood community, you are a hapless follower, spewing hate and moronic soundbites to further an agenda of hatred.  You are not an American but a subversive, turning on your fellow citizens.

"What we are talking about is the bill," she said. "We've all had family members pass away, but would this health care bill really have prevented (Jenny's) death? We do question it."

Who are you to question anything, Ms. Wojtowicz?  I see no M.D after your name.

"I'm very sorry about the whole lack of dialogue," Wojtowicz said. "My reaction to Midge? I don't know what to say."

I know what to say, Ms. Wojtowicz. You need to make a national apology to everyone denied insurance claims, those without insurance, the dead and dying who could have been saved had they had proper health care--and in this country that means health insurance. I urge you to take your callous soul and mind and enlighten it with knowledge and substance. Start here.  It's a news story about how five other capitalist and democratic countries around the world have national health care.  Surely, those are words even you can understand.


Note the large number of those receiving Medicare in the audience above. Yep, that government sponsored form of health care.

Fidelity Investments Stockpiling Tamiflu and CIGNA Denying a Six-Year Old Girl the Chance to Hear

Corrected posting.  I made an error and said that Fidelity was stockpiling H1N1 vaccine and this is incorrect.  They are stockpiling Tamiflu.  But CIGNA is still denying a deaf 6-year old child the ability to hear.

CIGNA story here and here.  Fidelity Investments story here and here.

As we approach the holidays and the season of giving, I'd like you all to think about how large corporations like Fidelity Investments and CIGNA only care about their bottom lines.  Not their employees, the people they are contractually bound to assist or how their actions (or lack of) can profoundly affect the populations within their realms for that matter.  A butterfly flapping its wings in Tahiti...

They are stockpiling Tamiflu to give to their employees, all with the blessing of the drug company, Roche, that makes it.  That would show that they are concerned with their health, right?

“Fidelity’s greatest concern is for the well-being of its employees,’’ one memo said.

Wow, that certainly seems like concern.  In my husband's case, they were not so concerned, which is why we are paying $1400 per month for COBRA coverage.  But the Boston.com article went on to state:

“The idea of employers stocking antivirals for the indiscriminate use of their employees runs counter to sound public health principles,’’ said Dr. Lauren Smith, medical director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Runs sound to public health principles.  Just got to keep the employees working, I guess, even if they are sick.  

People may confuse the common cold for the flu and inappropriately down a few Tamiflu capsules, they said, which over time can diminish the drug’s effectiveness against influenza by allowing the virus to become resistant to the medication. 

Affiliated Physicians, the group Fidelity hired, they like to push Tamiflu, that's for sure.   

Under the new plan, businesses pay a nominal annual fee to “reserve” their own stockpile of Tamiflu, which Roche will store and rotate to keep “in date.”  The contract comes up for renewal annually, at which time companies will have the opportunity to re-evaluate their investment decision.  A nominal fee, huh?  From Boston.com:

One of the Fidelity memos contains an admonition to employees: If you lose your supply of Tamiflu, you’re out of luck. Prescriptions will not be replaced.

Guess Fidelity is only willing to spend so much on employee health.

And then we come to CIGNA.  They are denying a child the ability to hear.  Is there anyone out there who would argue this isn't about money?

Here we are, in the richest nation in the world and one where we pride ourselves on our technology and ingenuity that can give a deaf person the ability to hear again. And the window of opportunity where this implant can work is closing--the child may be permanently deaf.

I am waiting to see how they spin this one as they were very quiet last Wednesday when the story broke and then hit the internet news outlets on Thursday.  Chris Curran, how do you sleep at night knowing you have to face the sane world and explain away another cruel "health" insurance act?  It must be impossible.

And H. Edward Hanway, you have become a very wealthy man thanks to CIGNA's claims denial process, do you really have a conscience, as a man, a human being?  Can you enjoy your wealth knowing your money has been made by acting so callously? 

Or if you want to be pragmatic, I'll state it this way: You have made your money by finding illegal ways to deny care CIGNA is contractually bound to cover (like with us) and then waiting for the lawyers to be called in to force you to keep your end of the bargain, which usually doesn't happen since most people can't afford attorneys, so CIGNA keeps the money, the accountants do their work and everything looks incredibly profitable and investors keep buying shares of CIGNA.  

And a deaf little girl doesn't ever get to hear the sound of her mom's voice.

Too bad Jacob Marley's ghost can't visit both CIGNA and Fidelity's Board of Directors.  Who am I kidding, even old Jacob wouldn't make a dent in their collective souls.  

Image of Jacob Marley found here.

A Guide to Awareness for Friends and Family of Those With Multiple Sclerosis

Full size of this great image found here.

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought now might be a good time to post some facts and thoughts about Multiple Sclerosis awareness--before the parties and get-togethers begin and social tensions hit their impending highs.  You know they will, it's the holidays.

Friends and family can help their loved ones just by being equipped with some knowledge about MS.  Uncomfortable situations can be avoided if you have an understanding of what MS can do and how someone who has been diagnosed may feel.

1.  Let's start with this fact: Multiple Sclerosis is different for every individual afflicted with the disease.  My husband's case of MS is particularly aggressive as he has Progressive MS.  Not everyone is affected the same as Paul.  Be aware that if you know someone with MS who shows no signs of affliction, there may be another person with the disease who is using a cane, has been blinded or is in a wheelchair.  The course of the disease varies greatly with each person. 

2.   Educate yourself.  Take 30 minutes or so and read about Multiple Sclerosis.  What is it?  It's an autoimmune disease that attacks a person's brain and spinal cord by destroying the myelin.  What's that?  Myelin is the protective coating we all have around our nerve cells.  And autoimmune diseases are diseases that occur when a person's immune system attacks and destroys their healthy body tissue--like myelin.  Why does a person's immune system attack their own body?  No one is quite sure why this happens.  What does it do?  Any number of things and I have many links for you on this site where you can read more.  The MS Society is a good place to start.  Read about the symptoms (extreme fatigue, numbness, tingling, loss of balance, tremors, spasms, spasticity, headaches, double vision, vertigo) of the disease.  This will go a long way in helping you understand what a person with MS may be feeling, which can be lousy, so be aware.

3.  Sensitivity to someone with MS, or any chronic disease, is a very important step in helping shape the way you communicate with that person.  Think of it this way, you wouldn't ask someone with a full cast on their leg to go for a jog, would you?  It's the same thing with MS, there may be no cast but body parts are still broken but in a different way.  So before you ask a potentially uncomfortable question like, "Well you look fine, Fred, why don't you get out and bike again?" find out from your friend or family member what they are capable of doing.  It never hurts to ask and it shows you are concerned.

4.  Health care tips are best kept to yourself.  As well-meaning as advice on health may be, it is not a brilliant idea, at all, to give this advice to someone who has Multiple Sclerosis.  "Taking vitamins and eating well has helped my friend with MS," may be true for your friend and it is certainly true for everyone, but when you are faced with uncertainty about what your body is going to allow you to do today, tomorrow or next year, these bits of information are best kept to yourself.  And again, it's because this disease is different for everyone.  Had you told me after Paul's first exacerbation that he'd be getting much worse and have to go through chemotherapy 4 years later, I would have broken down on the spot. 

5. Put yourself in their shoes.  Think of your favorite activity--and I don't mean having a pint at the pub--your favorite physical activity.  For those of you with filthy minds, fine, MS can affect sex as well so go ahead and think it.  Paul's favorite thing in the world was skiing.  He was an excellent skier; a natural.  He can never ski again.  Why?  Because the myelin has been eaten away, the nerve damage is done and he can no longer feel anything from just above both his knees downward.  If he does feel something it varies from horrible pain, numbness, tingling and what he describes as "Like I have two dead weights strapped to me that I move around with my thighs."

6.  Disease modifying drugs are no walk in the park.  People with Multiple Sclerosis are usually on one of 5 disease modifying drugs, plus whatever other medications are needed to help them with pain, fatigue or depression.  I won't highlight Tysabri here because it hasn't been proven to be safe yet and may never be--both of Paul's doctors did not recommend it.  The drugs (chart below) are injected on a daily, weekly or somewhere in between basis.  These drugs have their own special side effects as well.  I can speak from our experience with Rebif that Paul was made to feel horribly sick for one to two days after he injected himself and since he had to inject himself every three days, this was pretty much ALL the time.  He has since been prescribed Copaxone and is doing much better in handling that drug.

• Avonex (interferon beta-1a)
• Betaseron (interferon beta-1b)
• Copaxone (glatiramer acetate)
• Novantrone (mitoxantrone)
• Rebif (interferon beta-1a)
  

* Flu-like symptoms ( fatigue, chills, fever, muscle aches and sweating during initial weeks of treatment. Therefore it's recommended that the injection be taken at bedtime. Taking Tylenol or Advil or Motrin before each injection and during the 24 hours after the injection may help relieve the symptoms
* Reactions at the site of injection (swelling, redness, discoloration and pain). Contact your health care provider if the injection site becomes hardened. Do not inject into that site.
* Interferon drugs can cause ongoing sadness, anxiety, irritability, guilt, poor concentration, confusion and difficulties sleeping or eating. These symptoms should be reported to a health care professional immediately.

7.  Give to your favorite MS foundation.  Okay, you got me, that's not advice on how to talk to your friend, brother or sister who has MS.  It's a request to help us fight this disease.  Our favorite foundation is the Myelin Repair Foundation.  Send a donation in the name of your friend or loved one--they (and we) will appreciate your kindness, generosity and help.

Sarah "Death Panels" Palin and Going Rogue in Michigan

One of the reasons I restarted this blog about our insurance hell was thanks to Sarah "Death Panels" Palin.  She heard that term from Betsy McCaughey and thought it sounded "right" enough to repeat.  Why bother with fact-checking, if it sounds catchy, go with it.

Anyway, I'm watching Countdown tonight (and by the way, Keith and you other pundits, you guys spend way too much time on a woman with deplorable grammar and who thinks a noun, progress, is a verb, progressing) and I see the line of people at a Michigan mall waiting to get a copy of Sarah's book, Going Rogue (I think Going Rouge would have been a more apt title considering the amount of blush piled on her cheeks) signed by the Hair Bumped One herself. 



And I got to thinking.  This line of people, they aren't there just to get some face time and a quick wink and a "Hiya" from Mrs. Palin.  Nope.  Don't think so.  They're smarter than that.

They are thinking about the distribution and consumption of goods and services and how to get a piece of her action.  Look at Michigan's unemployment rate, thanks in large part to the auto industry.  They've been hard-hit by this economic downturn and if you are an enterprising resident of Michigan (Michiganer? Michigander? If you know the correct word, please email me) you would be there in line, too, waiting for a chance to get a signed copy from the Great Rouged One herself.

You could sell it on Ebay.  Maybe bring in a few more $$ than it's worth.  It's worth a try and why not?  You never know the capacity for which some people have to part with their money.  Like the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese sandwich that sold for $28,000.  See?  Worth a try with the holidays coming up.

Note: Above links for Ebay will expire.

Wendell Potter Should Have Helped Craft the Health Care Bill

Really.  And it's because he knows how important health INSURANCE reform and regulation are needed to make sure premium-paying Americans get what we pay for and not booted off the policy or denied long term disability coverage while on chemotherapy. 

Surrounded by Two Sides of Crazy; Right-Wing Nutjobs and the Insurance Industry, That's You, UnitedHealth Group

I don't know how we, as a nation, have come to this, but we have.  And it makes me wonder if we can continue to prosper when all intellect seems to be missing.

Between wading through the new 353,000 word health care bill with its annoying legalese, reading badly researched articles in the LA Times; stumbling upon blogs comparing health care reform to Nazi Germany (as if we don't already have insurance bureaucrats denying care, Dr. Hieb, and I would suggest you re-read your Hippocratic oath before blogging against treating those who are ill); trying to figure out why anyone would so mistrust our government to the point of this discourse (move if you hate it here so much) and complaining about paying into a risk pool (you already do that) by comparing it to "holding a gun to your head,"

No citizen would consider it moral to put a gun to his neighbor’s head and demand that he pay for his mother’s medical care -- no matter how much she may need it.  It is no more moral when people use the government as intermediary. (Uh, Dr. Hieb, it's called Medicare and I suspect you see those patients in your practice)

reading where UnitedHealth Group and CIGNA had enlisted their employees to write and speak-out against reform; finding more blogs railing against health care reform whilst selling advertising space to Aetna, I have to ask: Did we lose our collective intelligence here in the U.S? Are people really this stupid? And selfish? Dr. Hieb?  Does the G.I. Bill ring a bell?

The GOP Becoming More Ineffectual Every Day: Part Two, a Case of Turning on Each Other and CIGNA

Over at CQPolitics, an uber right-wing website/blog, Bill Pascoe asks this question.

Does anybody at the Republican National Committee understand how insurance works?

Ooh, my Spidey senses went all a-tingle at that one because well, look who this Bill Pascoe is.  From the blog over at CQPolitics.com and the typo is theirs, not mine:

Bill Pascoe is CEO of The Foundation for American Freedom, a think tank headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
A longtime conservative and Republican consultant and communications strategist, he has managed a number of high-profile statewide campaigns, served as chief spokesman of the Republican National Committee, written a regular newspaper column, hosted a nationally syndicated radio talk show, served as a congressional chief of staff, and smuggled cash and computers behind the Iron Curtain when there still was an Iron Curtain. His career also included stints at The Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Union, and he even once put his own name on athe ballot for a seat in his home state’s legislature — in a seat, he proudly notes, that had voted Republican precisely once since Reconstruction. He notes, not quite so proudly, that he kept the GOP streak intact.

Doesn't sound like Bill is helping out his buddies at the RNC very much by asking that kind of question.

But to be fair to the RNC, not many people (especially the GOP) have a good idea of how insurance works.  You have to get sick, like my husband, to really understand how it works.  It doesn't. Or, you have to shop around in the open market for it, like this gentleman did (a Republican as well) and find out how messed up a system it really is. Hint, insurers don't like sick people--at all--even ones with mild symptoms that require an Advil or two.

Mr. Pascoe goes on to state in his article found here that:

Republican National Committee had offered as a part of its standard employee benefits package a health insurance policy that included coverage for elective abortion services. Given the the most recent GOP Platform calls abortion "a fundamental assault on innocent human life," and given Republican House members' votes on Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak's amendment to the health insurance reform bill to ensure that no federal funds be used to fund abortion services as part of health insurance reform, it looked like the RNC was being more than a bit hypocritical -- so much so that Steele moved quickly to take action to head off what surely could have become a pro-life firestorm.

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," Steele told Politico. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."

But it hasn't been settled as more right-wingers are getting in on the action.  Mr. Pascoe goes on to further investigate the situation and found that RedState blogger, Leon Wolf, didn't like Mr. Steele's actions as he wants someone, anyone at the RNC fired for this policy provision with CIGNA.

and, further, demanded that no pro-lifer donate money to the RNC until heads roll.

Mr. Pascoe, however, does understand how insurance works and he understands risk pools.  He HAS to explain it to his fellow Repubs.

But unless the Republican National Committee is the only client to whom Cigna sells its health insurance policies, the issue isn't settled at all -- because donations from RNC contributors will continue to fund abortion services.
Funds sent by the RNC to Cigna in exchange for the insurance coverage its employees receive are pooled with other funds received from Cigna's other clients -- most of whom, I'm guessing, will continue offering their employees a standard benefits package that includes abortion services.
That's the way insurance works.

And here's where it gets good.  See, the GOP can't seem to stick together these days on anything except calling the President a socialist (we're a republic that's how he got elected--you know, a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them) and appearing on FOX.

Mr. Pascoe adds his own turning-of-the-knife into the already wounded body of the GOP:

If Steele and the RNC are truly committed to ensuring that no RNC donors' contributions are used to pay for abortions, then it must find and move its coverage to another health insurance provider -- one that explicitly does not even offer abortion coverage in any of the policies it offers.
Only then, Chairman Steele, will the issue be "settled."

Drop the policy with CIGNA!  Wonder how many Republicans have received campaign donations from CIGNA executives?  Hint, a lot. You can look it up, start with H. Edward Hanway.

Wonder how many of these Republican men can get pregnant or have to deal with a tragic pregnancy where your baby's heart stops and you have to go get a D&C (also called abortion) because your child is dead in your womb.  Hint, none.

The GOP Becoming More Ineffectual Every Day--Even Within Their Own Corporate-Friendly Agenda

Found this over at OpenCongress.org.  Our friends in the Corporate Shills Party can't even agree with who lines their campaign coffers.

Tension between Republicans and the nation’s top CEOs over healthcare reform escalated this week when the executives released a report praising aspects of President Barack Obama’s top initiative.

Republicans in Congress and some of their business allies in Washington are fuming over a new report commissioned by the Business Roundtable (BRT), an organization that represents more than 50 of the nation’s biggest corporations. […]

Can you say "ineffectual?"

Kentucky's 5th Congressional District Rep. Harold Dallas Rogers and Trying to Purchase Insurance in Cumberland, KY

When you think of Kentucky a few thoughts may come to mind; bluegrass, (since it is the bluegrass state) horse racing, the Derby, mint juleps on the veranda and well, Mitch McConnell.  I'm no fan of Senator McConnell especially after I saw how much money is in his campaign funds thanks to Health Care special interests.  It's sort of an oxymoron, isn't it?  Health and care when put in the hands of those lobbyists.  I digress. Photo of Rep. Rogers found here.

What struck me today was Kentucky's 5th district and this fact.

Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Harlan and Perry counties, has the lowest life expectancy of any district in America: 72.6 years for men and 76.4 for women.

Granted, many factors contribute to low life expectancy but when your representatives, Sen. McConnell to the 5th district's congressman, Rogers, are so against health care reform, you have got to wonder what Mitch and Hal are doing up there in Washington.

The counties making up Rep. Roger's district were mostly all dependent on coal mining for many years and when the coal stopped, a trail of poverty was left in its wake.  The 5th district is a microcosm for what ails most of rural America: heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

I decided to do a test at eHealthInsurance dot com (over 1 million customers insured!) to find out what coverage would cost me in Cumberland, Kentucky in Rep. Roger's district. For a quick profile of Cumberland, go here. Estimated household income in 2007 was $21,917 while for the state it was $40,267 and 36.9% live below poverty level. It's a solid Republican community.

So how much would insurance cost my family? I plugged in my family's data, same birth years and we're not smokers.  Of course, they haven't gotten to the Multiple Sclerosis part, but for the sake of this exercise, we're going to pretend there is no pre-existing condition, otherwise we could not afford coverage on $22,000--which brings me to another issue, but I'll deal with that later.  Suffice to say this from the MS Society:

Chronic illnesses such as MS, which are long-term and incurable, are typically not covered by private medical insurance, although the costs of diagnosis (seeing a neurologist or other specialist and paying for tests) may be covered.

Here's what popped up from my Pretend-We-Don't-Have-A-Pre-Existing-Condition-And-We-Live-In-Kentucky Insurance Search:

We found 63 plans starting as low as $181.00 a month Results based on 4 applicants located in HARLAN County, effective 12/1/2009 ( Edit )

As low as $239 monthly UnitedHealthcare Optional Dental, Maternity, and Vision now available! Plans underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, a UnitedHealthcare Company. As low as $202 monthly Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield New plans available, large provider network, optional maternity, dental, and life benefits. As low as $181 monthly Aetna With Aetna's National Networks, plans travel with you. No waiting period for Preventive or Dental care too. 24-hr response on apps!

UnitedHealth was our last carrier so I clicked on them to see what they have to offer a family making around $22,000 per year. I'm going to have to go with the high deductible since I don't make that much money. I'll have to roll the dice on that one. Health care in the United States of America is a gamble--bet you didn't know that.  It's shameful, isn't it, especially when compared to other countries who enjoy National Plans for all their citizens.  See Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.

Here's what came up for policy and deductible choices.  If I go with a $10,000 deductible for my family (that's half my income right there) then my yearly payments would be around $3600 and for that I get to pay for all my doctor's visits until I meet the $10,000 deductible--which is half my yearly income anway.

So let's play a game here and see what happens if I go for broke (which I will) and spend $750.02 per month to cover my family.  I get the lower deductible of $2300, but I will spend $9,000 per year which is, roughly, half my income and I still have to meet the $2300 deductible so that brings my spending to $11,300 and that is more than half of my yearly income.

When do I get to pay for: Housing, food, clothes, utilities, car payments, education savings for my children?

I don't.

This is a very broken system, isn't it?  The CEO of UnitedHealth Group, Stephen Helmsley, he manages to bring in a little over $3 million in total compensation to make sure his investors, both institutional and individual, are happy with their stock prices.

Health, healing and unfettered profiteering should not be part of the equation in how we take care of ourselves in this country.

Gimpy Guys T-Shirts Are Here!

Gimpy Guys Rule t-shirts available now and with every purchase of a shirt, 10% goes to the Myelin Repair Foundation. Not only will you be a trendsetter sporting your new "T," you will prove yourself a charitable, forward-thinking human being.  Yes, t-shirts do say a lot about a person.

And please send us your photo wearing your Gimpy Guys Rule t-shirt and we'll post them up here and on Paul's site. 

220 Votes in the Right (Correct) Direction

I want to share the paragraph below with you as it perfectly sums up why we need health insurance/health care reform in this country.  It was written by Michael Ricciardelli at Health Reform Watch dot com.

On a regular basis writers on this (Health Reform Watch dot com) blog have discussed health reform as a moral imperative: citing religious doctrine, philosophers, economists and statistics to show that health care, unlike the purchase of automobiles and designer shoes, is not correctly a conventional aspect of a market economy– that the distribution of healing and life itself should not be premised upon who is the best capitalist, or, for that matter, the child of the best capitalist. That uninsured hospitalized children face a 6o percent increased risk of dying says that in a way that I simply cannot add to. Lack of insurance kills.

Very well put, Mr. Ricciardelli, health care is not correctly a conventional aspect of a market economy and lack of insurance kills.  We are headed in a better direction by 220 votes.