Why change our system when, as Kevin constantly reminds us, we have the very best health care system in the world?
Blue Cross of California systematically violates state law when it cancels health insurance policyholders after they get pregnant or sick, making no attempt to determine whether the consumers did anything to merit such harsh treatment, a scathing investigation by state regulators has found.
As a result of its unprecedented investigation, the Department of Managed Health Care today fined Blue Cross $1 million. The department's findings also expose the company, the state's largest health insurer, to legal liability in dozens of lawsuits filed by consumers who allege their policies were illegally canceled, subjecting them to substantial hardships...The investigation found that Blue Cross used computer programs and a dedicated department to systematically cancel the policies of pregnant women and the chronically ill regardless of whether they intentionally lied on their applications to cover up pre-existing medical conditions, a standard required by state law for canceling individual policies. Regulators examined 90 randomly selected cases of policy cancellations and found violations in each one.
Free marketeers often say that markets are great at solving problems, and that's true - so long as there is a profit to be made in solving the problem, that is. Corporations, after all, are profit maximizing machines. And this case is actually a perfect example of that idea.
Blue Cross may claim to be a health care provider. The truth, however, is that Blue Cross provides health care services so that it can make a profit. Given that, its both understandable and predictable that it would behave this way. What's truly shocking is that so many people seem to be shocked.
Markets are wonderful when they are properly structured. They can be disastrous when they are not. I'll leave it up to you to conclude which way our health care system trends.
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