I just finished listening to today's podcast with Exulansic. Stuff of nightmares. The fact that these expensive surgeries ARE paid for by the insurance companies when so many safe and life saving medical treatments are denied to others certainly must play a role in the hatred of the CEOs.
At the end you played a clip of Warren Smith teaching some critical thinking. Just yesterday Petersen had him on his podcast. Was a great discussion you should check it out, I think you would enjoy it.
There often times when I see news stories involving high paid executives like bankers being paid millions a year, including banks here in Canada, or I see an already very rich Hollywood star doing TV commercials, I often ask how much money is enough for some people. I don't have a problem with people getting rich from honest innovation and hard work, more power to them. But in the case of health insurance the idea of making denying claims up front the a core element of their business model in order, not to just make a profit, bit make millions for executives, is at its very heart, evil. And as you said, such situations cans certainly drive some people over the edge to do drastic things. The movie John Q. starring Denzel Washington (who I love) demonstrates this When John (Washington) takes a hospital emergency room hostage after his medical insurance and the hospital deny his son a heart transplant. That is perhaps a rather drastic example. However, I remember watching a painful interview of a mother whose son two year old son died of meningitis because her HMO required her to take him to a hospital that was much farther away from her home, than the one in her neighbourhood. Our healthcare system here certainly isn't perfect, and I think it could certainly be made better if we did allow for some private healthcare, which would hopefully take the pressure off some waiting times for surgeries and tests, by allowing those who chose to pay for certain tests to do so, as it is already happening to some degree anyhow. I still, however, will take it over the American system.
I forgot about that movie and I too love, love Denzel. If an issue can drive people to violence, the business model of health insurance is likely it. And yes, I will take our shitty system over their really shitty system. I've had my issues but if you work hard to get what you need in Canada - you mostly can. It takes time and perseverance but there are a few heroes.
Excellent article, dear Trish. Did some research for one of my 'Letter from America' series. In terms of health for the general population, the United States has a lower ranking than Cuba. Not condoning violence but the general contempt for such companies among friends/colleagues here is difficult to overstate.
Thanks Declan -- I have not seen a recent story where there has been such uniform condemnation ....Usually when someone is killed, no matter how terrible they were, people withhold judgement -- but in this case, it is coming right away from non-radical people who see the absolute tragedy of American healthcare for the non-rich.
We talk about the "Rule of Law" For the Rule of Law to work, justice must be done.
An issue that is never addressed is that when a corporation is fined, even pays record fines, it is the cost of doing business. We have limited liability applied to Corporations, which means that the Directors of the Corporation are not personally responsible to pay the fines of the Corporation.
Whenever there is a disconnect between action & accountability we should expect that the behavior will continue.
If you will, when an ecological notch is created where by someone else pays the price for a bad behavior, we should expect someone to move into that notch.
If you look at the behavior of Chimps, when a dominant male does not consider the needs of the Troop, the other chimps swarm the Dominant Male. This response is deeply embedded in our ancestorial history, and has been suppressed by protecting very powerful people from the consequences of their actions. However, at this point in our history we are at a breaking point. If our elites want to survive, I would suggest finding some scapegoats, who's behavior has been particularly egregious, and make examples of them. (show trials to pacify the common people)
Having said that, it would be best for all of us to see real reforms happen.
I guess we need to get more info first. I don't think the salary of these top guys matters in the least. I do think stepping into immoral territory by trying to deny claims by any means necessary, and using your power and might to do it, is an urgent issue.
The last 15 years of my business career were spent in the insurance industry. Increasingly, I had to hold my nose over the systemic immorality and dishonest business practices that were endemic across the Life and Health practice. Behind the guise of respectability and regulation, these organizations routinely prey on consumers. One product line, with tens of millions in premiums, had a loss ratio of 7%. That is, 7 cents paid in claims for every premium dollar collected.
Wow....had a similar experience over a fire in our building and in the end it got paid but it was a full time job for me to take them on. I can be relentless if I feel I'm being cheated but one should need to work so hard to have what is essentially a contract fulfilled. Twenty five years ago, after a huge kitchen fire we had wonderful response and care from our broker and agent. I think the high priest of share value is the devil here.
Or perhaps a hired hit man snubbed off Brian for reasons only a large and powerful corporation could pull off, like what happened to Barry and Honey Sherman. Pharma is dangerous territory to tred.
Can't say I feel sorry for the guy, made his millions off the backs of people who could least afford it. The "insurance industry" is a full on fraud/sham, imo.
It is only a matter of time before this hits Canada as well.
Hell crown corporations threw employees out on leave without any pay or benefits for 7 1/2 months in 2022 for not complying with the jab mandate, the employer then made the employees pay back 7 1/2 months of benefit payments which they had no access to for that time.
There is an axiom that rings true.
“When you ain’t got shit you ain’t got shit to lose”
There are a lot of people that no longer have anything to lose🤔
Strange to admit that, even in the UK, we suspected it could have been a 'retribution hit'!
We thought that this sort of payback might occur for all those involved in creating diseases and the deadly cures that have killed millions world-wide. Can't say it'll be a surprise when others get the same treatment!
I don't do 'religion' but I 'pray' for Fauci to be brought to justice for Crimes against Humanity!
The other 'prayer' I have is that Big Pharma will have ZERO LIABILITY removed retrospectively (i.e. pre-2020) and then sued by every one of the millions they harmed, along with the relatives of those who lost family and loved ones to Pfizer's, Moderna's, J&J's, etc, POISONOUS INJECTIONS!
Unjabbed Mick (UK) We'll all live longer by avoiding Poisons administered by corrupt Doctors.
“ A former unnamed case manager told Stat that a supervisor directed her to immediately restart a case review process for any patient who won an appeal. "And 99.9 percent of the time, we're going to turn right back around and issue another [denial]," the former case manager said. "Well, you won, but OK, what'd that get you? Three or four days? You’re going to get another [denial] on your next review, because they want you out."
So many denied legitimate claims. Can’t imagine how horrible it would be, particularly if you couldn’t afford any alternative option.
The only surprise here is that it isn't a daily occurrence. Think of ALL the people who died and continued to die from industrial disease and when the rare one gets even, it's a lower level person who is killed. The entire medical industrial complexes are the number three killer and they almost always get away with it. Corruption is endemic and the only place I know doing something serious about it is China. The entire corporate capitalism system is basically the worst possible people doing the worst possible things and extracting the most possible money while creating zero wealth and with no personal responsibility; protected by the legal industrial complexes and including the political industrial complexes. Anyone who believes "anything" after the COVID 19 84 lies "ongoing lies" is beyond hope. Harari's stories are actually lies which are the basis of our societies and they start before kindergarten and continue through life by every means possible by the omnipresent indoctrination industrial complexes. There's no other way our extractive society could exist. Henry Ford once said " if the people understood how the financial/banking system works, there would be a revolution before sunset"! Time to jump on the bicycle for a ride and quit thinking 🤔 about it.
I remember being appalled when all the Trump haters were upset the bullet missed! I was outraged! However, I found myself almost gleeful at this murder because this, to my mind, awful man deserved it! Then I saw that my response was no better than the anti-Trumpers…Brian Thompson did not deserve to be murdered but held to account. May this be the first of many wake up calls to the American healthcare insurance scheme and all Americans. I’m thankful Canada has its, albeit fractured, universal healthcare system.
Colette -- I love this comment. As I said, I had a reporter's tingle the minute is saw the video of the shooting. Not random, very deliberate and perhaps making a salient point. Obviously this is not the way to communicate but a shooting certainly focusses the mind. Denying care to sick people should also be considered criminal. Look at Boeing. They all got golden parachutes after three crashes caused by their own cheapness.
"Make America Healthy Again" is indeed the mantra that the US needs to follow to get out from under the thumb of the medical industrial complex. The same can be said in Canada.
From my Canadian perspective, there once was a time where individuals had to pay their own way for almost all medical treatments. In today's age, with skyrocketing chronic illness and obesity comes the promise of (costly and lifelong) pharmaceutical interventions that neither our publicly funded system, nor the user payer/private insurer US model can sustain.
Not defending the criminal behaviour of the insurer in the case highlighted in this article. However, our food and pharmaceutical "industries" need a big re-think, as does the need for individuals to better look after themselves.
I have an anemia problem and the best fix is 700$ per time. My private insurance pays a small portion but I can't function without it and it is delivered in a hospital setting. It is mostly the iron infusion itself that costs because we used the newest and best. Thank goodness I can scrape it together. So we have our own troubles here.
I just finished listening to today's podcast with Exulansic. Stuff of nightmares. The fact that these expensive surgeries ARE paid for by the insurance companies when so many safe and life saving medical treatments are denied to others certainly must play a role in the hatred of the CEOs.
At the end you played a clip of Warren Smith teaching some critical thinking. Just yesterday Petersen had him on his podcast. Was a great discussion you should check it out, I think you would enjoy it.
I didn't know who he was..just appears as a random teacher on social media. Thanks so much.
There often times when I see news stories involving high paid executives like bankers being paid millions a year, including banks here in Canada, or I see an already very rich Hollywood star doing TV commercials, I often ask how much money is enough for some people. I don't have a problem with people getting rich from honest innovation and hard work, more power to them. But in the case of health insurance the idea of making denying claims up front the a core element of their business model in order, not to just make a profit, bit make millions for executives, is at its very heart, evil. And as you said, such situations cans certainly drive some people over the edge to do drastic things. The movie John Q. starring Denzel Washington (who I love) demonstrates this When John (Washington) takes a hospital emergency room hostage after his medical insurance and the hospital deny his son a heart transplant. That is perhaps a rather drastic example. However, I remember watching a painful interview of a mother whose son two year old son died of meningitis because her HMO required her to take him to a hospital that was much farther away from her home, than the one in her neighbourhood. Our healthcare system here certainly isn't perfect, and I think it could certainly be made better if we did allow for some private healthcare, which would hopefully take the pressure off some waiting times for surgeries and tests, by allowing those who chose to pay for certain tests to do so, as it is already happening to some degree anyhow. I still, however, will take it over the American system.
I forgot about that movie and I too love, love Denzel. If an issue can drive people to violence, the business model of health insurance is likely it. And yes, I will take our shitty system over their really shitty system. I've had my issues but if you work hard to get what you need in Canada - you mostly can. It takes time and perseverance but there are a few heroes.
Owned by Vanguard, Blackrock , Statestreet, JP Morgan Chase...
Excellent article, dear Trish. Did some research for one of my 'Letter from America' series. In terms of health for the general population, the United States has a lower ranking than Cuba. Not condoning violence but the general contempt for such companies among friends/colleagues here is difficult to overstate.
Thanks Declan -- I have not seen a recent story where there has been such uniform condemnation ....Usually when someone is killed, no matter how terrible they were, people withhold judgement -- but in this case, it is coming right away from non-radical people who see the absolute tragedy of American healthcare for the non-rich.
That is the insurance company used by AARP.....if that tells you anything! :)
We talk about the "Rule of Law" For the Rule of Law to work, justice must be done.
An issue that is never addressed is that when a corporation is fined, even pays record fines, it is the cost of doing business. We have limited liability applied to Corporations, which means that the Directors of the Corporation are not personally responsible to pay the fines of the Corporation.
Whenever there is a disconnect between action & accountability we should expect that the behavior will continue.
If you will, when an ecological notch is created where by someone else pays the price for a bad behavior, we should expect someone to move into that notch.
If you look at the behavior of Chimps, when a dominant male does not consider the needs of the Troop, the other chimps swarm the Dominant Male. This response is deeply embedded in our ancestorial history, and has been suppressed by protecting very powerful people from the consequences of their actions. However, at this point in our history we are at a breaking point. If our elites want to survive, I would suggest finding some scapegoats, who's behavior has been particularly egregious, and make examples of them. (show trials to pacify the common people)
Having said that, it would be best for all of us to see real reforms happen.
Well said, John.
I guess we need to get more info first. I don't think the salary of these top guys matters in the least. I do think stepping into immoral territory by trying to deny claims by any means necessary, and using your power and might to do it, is an urgent issue.
The last 15 years of my business career were spent in the insurance industry. Increasingly, I had to hold my nose over the systemic immorality and dishonest business practices that were endemic across the Life and Health practice. Behind the guise of respectability and regulation, these organizations routinely prey on consumers. One product line, with tens of millions in premiums, had a loss ratio of 7%. That is, 7 cents paid in claims for every premium dollar collected.
Wow....had a similar experience over a fire in our building and in the end it got paid but it was a full time job for me to take them on. I can be relentless if I feel I'm being cheated but one should need to work so hard to have what is essentially a contract fulfilled. Twenty five years ago, after a huge kitchen fire we had wonderful response and care from our broker and agent. I think the high priest of share value is the devil here.
Salaries matter I think when you consider that money is taken out of the system for patients who need care. CEO has a motive for behaving badly.
Yeah, I guess it depends on the amount they get as a salary, and how much that extra $$ actually impacts what can be used for claims people need.
A modern day Robin Hood.
Or perhaps a hired hit man snubbed off Brian for reasons only a large and powerful corporation could pull off, like what happened to Barry and Honey Sherman. Pharma is dangerous territory to tred.
You never can tell...
Can't say I feel sorry for the guy, made his millions off the backs of people who could least afford it. The "insurance industry" is a full on fraud/sham, imo.
It is only a matter of time before this hits Canada as well.
Hell crown corporations threw employees out on leave without any pay or benefits for 7 1/2 months in 2022 for not complying with the jab mandate, the employer then made the employees pay back 7 1/2 months of benefit payments which they had no access to for that time.
There is an axiom that rings true.
“When you ain’t got shit you ain’t got shit to lose”
There are a lot of people that no longer have anything to lose🤔
Not the same song but you will enjoy this version of a Dylan classic.
https://youtu.be/x6XJNPOmKlM?si=I16wHQNeWqUQvyvQ
Bob Dylan. Like a Rolling Stone.
Strange to admit that, even in the UK, we suspected it could have been a 'retribution hit'!
We thought that this sort of payback might occur for all those involved in creating diseases and the deadly cures that have killed millions world-wide. Can't say it'll be a surprise when others get the same treatment!
I don't do 'religion' but I 'pray' for Fauci to be brought to justice for Crimes against Humanity!
The other 'prayer' I have is that Big Pharma will have ZERO LIABILITY removed retrospectively (i.e. pre-2020) and then sued by every one of the millions they harmed, along with the relatives of those who lost family and loved ones to Pfizer's, Moderna's, J&J's, etc, POISONOUS INJECTIONS!
Unjabbed Mick (UK) We'll all live longer by avoiding Poisons administered by corrupt Doctors.
“ A former unnamed case manager told Stat that a supervisor directed her to immediately restart a case review process for any patient who won an appeal. "And 99.9 percent of the time, we're going to turn right back around and issue another [denial]," the former case manager said. "Well, you won, but OK, what'd that get you? Three or four days? You’re going to get another [denial] on your next review, because they want you out."
So many denied legitimate claims. Can’t imagine how horrible it would be, particularly if you couldn’t afford any alternative option.
The only surprise here is that it isn't a daily occurrence. Think of ALL the people who died and continued to die from industrial disease and when the rare one gets even, it's a lower level person who is killed. The entire medical industrial complexes are the number three killer and they almost always get away with it. Corruption is endemic and the only place I know doing something serious about it is China. The entire corporate capitalism system is basically the worst possible people doing the worst possible things and extracting the most possible money while creating zero wealth and with no personal responsibility; protected by the legal industrial complexes and including the political industrial complexes. Anyone who believes "anything" after the COVID 19 84 lies "ongoing lies" is beyond hope. Harari's stories are actually lies which are the basis of our societies and they start before kindergarten and continue through life by every means possible by the omnipresent indoctrination industrial complexes. There's no other way our extractive society could exist. Henry Ford once said " if the people understood how the financial/banking system works, there would be a revolution before sunset"! Time to jump on the bicycle for a ride and quit thinking 🤔 about it.
Have a good ride. But I do think in the end, this might start some conversations. A trial would be very interesting.
I remember being appalled when all the Trump haters were upset the bullet missed! I was outraged! However, I found myself almost gleeful at this murder because this, to my mind, awful man deserved it! Then I saw that my response was no better than the anti-Trumpers…Brian Thompson did not deserve to be murdered but held to account. May this be the first of many wake up calls to the American healthcare insurance scheme and all Americans. I’m thankful Canada has its, albeit fractured, universal healthcare system.
Agree
Colette -- I love this comment. As I said, I had a reporter's tingle the minute is saw the video of the shooting. Not random, very deliberate and perhaps making a salient point. Obviously this is not the way to communicate but a shooting certainly focusses the mind. Denying care to sick people should also be considered criminal. Look at Boeing. They all got golden parachutes after three crashes caused by their own cheapness.
Nice self reflection Colette. Something sorely lacking in our society today.
"Make America Healthy Again" is indeed the mantra that the US needs to follow to get out from under the thumb of the medical industrial complex. The same can be said in Canada.
From my Canadian perspective, there once was a time where individuals had to pay their own way for almost all medical treatments. In today's age, with skyrocketing chronic illness and obesity comes the promise of (costly and lifelong) pharmaceutical interventions that neither our publicly funded system, nor the user payer/private insurer US model can sustain.
Not defending the criminal behaviour of the insurer in the case highlighted in this article. However, our food and pharmaceutical "industries" need a big re-think, as does the need for individuals to better look after themselves.
I have an anemia problem and the best fix is 700$ per time. My private insurance pays a small portion but I can't function without it and it is delivered in a hospital setting. It is mostly the iron infusion itself that costs because we used the newest and best. Thank goodness I can scrape it together. So we have our own troubles here.