Subject: [big campaign] FW: Conservatives Defend Insurers With Track Record Of Exploiting Seniors
From: Adam Jentleson <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]'" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:46:24 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Fyi - some points and links on conservatives defending insurers that exploit seniors.

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From: Progressive Media [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 5:33 PM
To: Adam Jentleson
Subject: Conservatives Defend Insurers With Track Record Of Exploiting Seniors

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September 24, 2009
Conservatives Defend Insurers With Track Record Of Exploiting Seniors

Today, More and More Early Retirees Are At The Mercy Of Insurance Companies - Who Can Charge Them As Much As 11 Times More For Coverage.

 *   The number of employers offering insurance to early retirees has fallen by half in the last 20 years<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29328&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> - shifting more and more early retirees into the individual market, where they are at the mercy of the insurance companies.

    *   Even those who continue to receive insurance through their employers are seeing their benefits get reduced<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29328&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>.

 *   On the individual market, insurers can charge early retirees as much as 11 times more than younger people for the same coverage<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=28974&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> - this process is called "age rating." (Reformers in Congress are trying to rein in this practice, but insurers are lobbying furiously<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29329&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> to preserve their leeway to charge early retirees exponentially more.)

 *   And in the vast majority of states (41 states), there is no limit on how much insurance companies can charge early retirees for individual premiums<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29330&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>.

Once Seniors Are Eligible For Medicare, Insurers Take Advantage Of Them Through Medicare Advantage.

 *   Insurance companies have a long track record of trying to take advantage of seniors through the Medicare Advantage program - which is a windfall for insurance company profits.

 *   Fully two-thirds of insurance companies who provide coverage through Medicare Advantage have been cited for violations related to how they enroll or deal with beneficiaries. [Tampa Tribune, 6/27/07]

 *   For example, WellPoint, one of the nation's largest insurers, was sanctioned for overcharging beneficiaries, failing to provide them with the drugs they need, and posing "a serious threat to the health and safety of Medicare beneficiaries."<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29331&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>

 *   In Florida, WellCare was forced to pay $90 million to settle claims that it artificially boosted profits by shortchanging $40 million from Florida agencies - including the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation. [Tampa Tribune, 6/30/09]

 *   In Illinois, Humana was forced to pay half a million dollars in fines for trying to put seniors in "unaffordable or unnecessary programs."<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29210&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>

But Despite This Track Record, Opponents Of Reform Are Defending Insurers And Putting Their Interests Ahead Of Seniors.

 *   Progressives in Congress are trying to shore up Medicare's long-term solvency by cutting wasteful overpayments to insurance companies through Medicare Advantage - measures that could generate up to $149 billion in savings<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29332&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> without affecting benefits, and that have been endorsed by AARP<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29333&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> because the current system is "unfair to the majority of beneficiaries who participate in the traditional program."

    *   In fact, the overpayments to insurers through the Medicare Advantage program have actually resulted in higher premiums for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29334&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>, and contributed to Medicare's long-term financial challenge<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29335&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>.

 *   But instead of looking out for seniors, conservatives are rushing to defend insurance companies and their profits - despite insurers' long track record of taking advantage of seniors.

 *   For instance - in response to reports that Humana is intentionally misleading seniors about health care reform, Sen. Mitch McConnell (who has received almost $100,000 from Humana) rushed to the Senate floor to defend Humana<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29336&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d>. In the House, Minority Leader John Boehner also rushed to defend Humana.

 *   Conservatives are going so far as to block nominees for key positions<http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=29337&elq=89b815d661bd411bace8c0751d956c8d> in the Department of Health and Human Services in order to allow insurance companies to continue taking advatnage of seniors.

For more information, please contact:
Adam Jentleson, 202.682.1611
[email-masked]

Center for American Progress Action Fund | 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20005

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