Greetings all!

Have you been seeing the news lately?  Our Republican president and Republican-led Congress can't get critical issues resolved.  They seem to think changing the Congressional rules or bullying other members would really help this process.

We need to fix another side of this health issue. ACA worked to get more folks insured so 85% of our states would not go bankrupt again.  That ratio translated to only 6 states did not suffer financially due to absent health care for 25-30 million Americans.

For some reason, many companies and corporations in the US seem to think they need to be larger to deal/work with the US government.  That was not a concern in previous decades.  Why or how this thinking arose is difficult to ascertain.  Was it because of 9/11? Was it because we’ve built a much larger bureaucracy after adding Homeland Security?

Some insurers have acquired and merged with other organizations to achieve this perceived necessary growth. Several have left the ACA network because they can’t make money. Another large company, Anthem, has been under serious financial pressure since late 2015. They’d like to acquire a NY insurance company to get them out of trouble. In their 2015 annual report, Anthem has claimed on their website that they had made less than $10 per patient.  If ACA is not revised or obliterated, they say they also are leaving the health network.

Also, some of these insurance companies, which were designed as service organizations, have petitioned the courts to re-designate these organizations as FOR PROFIT.  At least one, if not many of these corporations have been working under that new designation without any ruling from at least the NJ courts. They have been charging outlandish premium prices, refusing to cover applicable treatments and procedures, delaying, reducing or eliminating the requisite reimbursement to patients, physicians, surgeons and facilities. Horizon BCBS has built a huge reserve following this strategy.  The state of New Jersey has recently issued $15.5 million in fines against Horizon BCBS for mishandling Medicaid. It is refreshing that NJ state wants to re-structure Horizon BCBS.

I remember former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.  He had stated several times, to oversee US commerce and protect our citizens, “we must legislate, regulate and litigate.” We need good laws that direct the business organizations and file charges against those that break our laws. There is not a perfect human being alive on this planet.  We all make missteps and mistakes. Hopefully they are few and far between and that we do learn from them. In business, these errors can cause or add to trouble, pain and suffering.

As faithful citizens, we must consider the other side of this health care issue. The business side must be audited, its procedures and strategies evaluated, and litigations begun against those unwilling to abide by our rules. Are these companies over-burdened by debt? Are they taking honest actions towards their insured members? Need we review corporate practice against their actual legal definition?

On a positive note, is there a way we can support these companies in their efforts to insure the health of our less fortunate? Will interim subsidies or refinancing opportunities to sustain them in the intent to help these poor or weaker Americans?

 To better health for everyone!