A landmark class action settlement reveals the common practices that inflate costs and burden doctors — and why litigation remains a powerful tool for reform.
You perform such a valuable service. I wish Americans could read about universal healthcare (US only country among rich ones to have no universal healthcare, millions still uninsured or underinsured) and the New York Health Act as an example of what is possible. The richest country CAN afford it!
This is huge. I totally understand all of the hoops BCBS makes it's patients jump through with all of the extra forms and not wanting to cover things. It really is a burden. Then, when they don't cover the least invasive thing and you end up in the hospital, that's when they are happy to help collect a deductible and coinsurance.
I looked at my husband’s most recent check stub yesterday and saw that he has paid almost $23,000 YTD and his employer has paid less than 4000 toward medical insurance. And we still have co-pays after we hit our $5000 deductible. Forgive me if I have no pity for these insurance companies, they cut deals for better rates and when patients pay cash they have to pay more. That’s the first thing that needs to be legislated the outright robbery is second, Blue Cross is not hurting, neither is United, our provider. So actually no, don’t forgive me, forgive them for their crimes against American citizens.
That is such good news. But litigation won't be enough to change this cruel, greedy system. For one thing, they will figure out another way to cheat consumers. Citizens United must end so that it is more difficult for insurers to buy their politicians.
And the results of those class actions get passed on to the public. Those settlements, as we know, are considered the cost of doing business. We don't have health, but rather sick, care.
$2.8 billion is just a cost of doing business to them. The penalty needs to be actually punitive. Adding 2 or 3 more zeroes would seem more appropriate in the case of such obvious fraud.
In a Beckers Hospital Review article from the past year that I recently reposted on Linkedin it's data stated that in 2017 the average Physician total compensation was $345,000. I'm assuming in 2024 that figure is now well over the $400,000 mark, which puts them in the top 1% of all earners in the US. In a completely broken healthcare system in the US, where we rank last in all measurable healthcare metrics across the board when compared to all other developed countries (another article that I recently reposted on Linkedin), at minimum the consumers of healthcare in the US are not getting what we are paying for. It would be a great service to the consumers of healthcare in the US if you would use your journalistic capabilities to further investigative all of the massive waste, fraud and abuse that is still running rampant in the irretrievably broken US healthcare system before indicting the apparatus that is trying hard to control the runaway Provider costs that many US consumers (especially Seniors) can no longer afford to pay and who in many cases have to choose between their food, utilites, rent or their healthcare costs such as prescriptions and hospital costs.
Thank you for this post. I hope the plaintiffs do prevail in the end. Can you please explain the details of the lawsuit in layman’s terms? How did BCBS cheat Americans?
Does this have anything to do with the Anthem Blue Cross dumping the Scripps Network, which I'm in, on 12/31/24 unless they agree to their terms, Mr. Potter?
You perform such a valuable service. I wish Americans could read about universal healthcare (US only country among rich ones to have no universal healthcare, millions still uninsured or underinsured) and the New York Health Act as an example of what is possible. The richest country CAN afford it!
Hochul would be a hero right now if she pushed the NYHA forward to protect us from what Trump is about to do.
This is huge. I totally understand all of the hoops BCBS makes it's patients jump through with all of the extra forms and not wanting to cover things. It really is a burden. Then, when they don't cover the least invasive thing and you end up in the hospital, that's when they are happy to help collect a deductible and coinsurance.
I looked at my husband’s most recent check stub yesterday and saw that he has paid almost $23,000 YTD and his employer has paid less than 4000 toward medical insurance. And we still have co-pays after we hit our $5000 deductible. Forgive me if I have no pity for these insurance companies, they cut deals for better rates and when patients pay cash they have to pay more. That’s the first thing that needs to be legislated the outright robbery is second, Blue Cross is not hurting, neither is United, our provider. So actually no, don’t forgive me, forgive them for their crimes against American citizens.
That is such good news. But litigation won't be enough to change this cruel, greedy system. For one thing, they will figure out another way to cheat consumers. Citizens United must end so that it is more difficult for insurers to buy their politicians.
And the results of those class actions get passed on to the public. Those settlements, as we know, are considered the cost of doing business. We don't have health, but rather sick, care.
$2.8 billion is just a cost of doing business to them. The penalty needs to be actually punitive. Adding 2 or 3 more zeroes would seem more appropriate in the case of such obvious fraud.
Wendell, can we schedule you on a show?
In a Beckers Hospital Review article from the past year that I recently reposted on Linkedin it's data stated that in 2017 the average Physician total compensation was $345,000. I'm assuming in 2024 that figure is now well over the $400,000 mark, which puts them in the top 1% of all earners in the US. In a completely broken healthcare system in the US, where we rank last in all measurable healthcare metrics across the board when compared to all other developed countries (another article that I recently reposted on Linkedin), at minimum the consumers of healthcare in the US are not getting what we are paying for. It would be a great service to the consumers of healthcare in the US if you would use your journalistic capabilities to further investigative all of the massive waste, fraud and abuse that is still running rampant in the irretrievably broken US healthcare system before indicting the apparatus that is trying hard to control the runaway Provider costs that many US consumers (especially Seniors) can no longer afford to pay and who in many cases have to choose between their food, utilites, rent or their healthcare costs such as prescriptions and hospital costs.
Thank you for this post. I hope the plaintiffs do prevail in the end. Can you please explain the details of the lawsuit in layman’s terms? How did BCBS cheat Americans?
Does this have anything to do with the Anthem Blue Cross dumping the Scripps Network, which I'm in, on 12/31/24 unless they agree to their terms, Mr. Potter?