Say It Ain't So Already

Surprise, Surprise: Wellpoint Fails to Keep Its Promise to Help Uninsured

March 18, 2010 at 11:20 AM Leave a comment

From Think Progress via the Los Angeles Times:

WellPoint Inc. — which recently came under fire for planning double-digit rate hikes in at least eleven states — pledged three years ago to use its charitable foundation to spend $30 million to assist the uninsured receive care.

A new investigative report by the Los Angeles Times finds that WellPoint’s foundation has completely failed to meet its promise of spending $30 million to help the uninsured. Rather, the company spent $6.2 million — a paltry 11 percent of what the company promised.

[...]

An investigation by Congress earlier this year found that WellPoint’s Chief Executive Angela F. Braly had a salary of $1.1 million last year and stock options valuing approximately $8.5 million, meaning that the company couldn’t spend anywhere near what it spends on just one of its own employees to help the uninsured it claims to care about.

My impression is that, in its deal-making over the health care “reform” bill, the White House, unfortunately, has placed a lot of faith and trust in the insurance companies not to do certain things.  For example, yesterday on the Dylan Ratigan show on MSNBC, Michael Moore said that the new bill levies a fine on insurance companies if they drop coverage due to a pre-existing condition. The amount?  $100 a day.  So the rumor that insurance companies can’t drop people due to a pre-existing condition is just that, a rumor.  They can and they will.

This news about Wellpoint is just one example of why these shyster can’t be trusted.  At.  All.

We’ll be hearing stories about people who face treatment that will cost $100,000 who’ve been dropped due to a “pre-existing condition,” but the insurance company figures paying $100 per day is cheaper than shelling out $100,000 — heck, the person could easily be dead before the fine even gets close to $100,000.

I’m going to wait to hear the details but the White House and Democrats may have made a deal with the devil.

Entry filed under: Democrats, Including Blue Dogs & "Liberals", Health - Physical and Psychological, President Barack H. Obama and Co.. Tags: .