Insurance industry battles bill mandating mental health coverage

By Kevin Bogardus

WASHINGTON, August 13, 2002 — James Hackett learned about the inequities in the coverage of mental health services after his teenage daughte

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… benefits program, you discourage those people from signing on.Indeed, the insurance industry has continued a prolonged campaign of influence in attempts to block parit …"

"… gs on the bill, whose members have also benefited from the largesse of the insurance industry’s deep pockets. The industry has forked over $3.3 million in the past tw …"

"… .Bush has also taken his piece of the pie. In the 2000 election alone, the insurance industry pumped $1.6 million into his campaign coffers.From “Harry and Louise” …"

"… to Mental HealthThe primary opponents of parity legislation are the major insurance industry trade associations such as the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) …"

Program to help small farmers now virtually run by industry

By Gil Shochat

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2001 — When Brad Koetz was told that his impressive sunflower yield was unfit for human consumption, he was taken abac

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… ercent.Koetz fell victim to a government program virtually run by the crop insurance industry.It is an industry full of former Agriculture Department employees who jump …"

"… me on Capitol Hill or at USDA on agricultural or crop insurance issues.The insurance industry is a major player even by Washington standards. Between 1996 and 1999, it …"

"… etz is bitter about how he has been treated by the government and the crop insurance industry- so angry, in fact, that he filed suit against his insurer for breach of c …"

"… ies.Every five years, the USDA renegotiates how much money it will pay the insurance industry to deliver crop insurance to farmers and how much risk each side will bear …"

Analysis — N.C. consumer advocates seeing red over bait and switch by one of the blues

By Wendell Potter

Consumer advocates in North Carolina thought they had a deal with Blue Cross on a health insurance exchange, but now they are having doubts.

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… n insurance agent (someone like Dockham) and representatives of two of the insurance industry’s most reliable allies: the Chamber of Commerce and the National Fed …"

"… merce and the National Federation of Independent Business. (Last year, the insurance industry funneled $86 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help finance an ad …"

"… hat would have eight members, none of whom would be representatives of the insurance industry. Two members would represent employers and two would represent the general …"

"… iety lobbyist Christine Weason told me. “The thought of allowing the insurance industry the opportunity to create a system to which they will enjoy billions of do …"

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ANALYSIS: Employer-based health care system is crumbling fast, may not survive

By Wendell Potter

ANALYSIS: Employer-based health care has been crumbling for several years

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… uld probably only hasten its complete collapse.When I began working in the insurance industry in 1989, the vast majority of Americans — well over two-thirds of the po …"

"… rkers simply can’t afford to take on the additional financial burden.The insurance industry has also played a leading role in the decline of the employer-based system …"

ANALYSIS: Health savings accounts lucrative for insurers, costly for consumers

By Wendell Potter

Insurers fight requirement to spend 80% of premium on care

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… es insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care—the insurance industry is predicting dire consequences for people enrolled in health savings acco …"

"… f coverage through HSA plans.”Having spent nearly 20 years in the health insurance industry, I knew it was just a matter of time before AHIP would mount a big campaig …"

"… sure a bright future for HSA plans.One of the reasons I left my job in the insurance industry was because I could not in good faith continue to promote HSA plans as the …"

"… occurred during the George W. Bush administration, which joined the health insurance industry in persuading Congress to pass legislation making HSAs more attractive by …"

ANALYSIS: Insurers's bait and switch

By Wendell Potter

Analysis: Insurers fooling consumers with cynical bait and switch promising low premiums

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… the uninsured and underinsured continue to swell.It also explains why the insurance industry and its allies are pulling out all the stops to kill a measure in the Cali …"

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ANALYSIS: It's time to get outraged

By Wendell Potter

America's dysfunctional health care system is responsible for countless horror stories, but many folks aren't paying attention

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… e status quo.  Since I started speaking out against the abuses of the insurance industry, I have heard from hundreds of people with maddening and heartbreaking sto …"

"… nd me links to articles or broadcasts they have seen. When I worked in the insurance industry, we called them “horror stories,” and for good reason. The circumstanc …"

"… mber of uninsured Americans will be reduced by 30 million, and many of the insurance industry’s most egregious practices—including refusing to sell coverage to peop …"

ANALYSIS: Death panels real and imagined

By Wendell Potter

Congressmen like Phil Gingrey continue to scare foks with talk of death panels, while insurers make real life or death decisions

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… dical directors are corporate employees just as I was when I worked in the insurance industry. One of the responsibilities of these employees is to do their part to ass …"

ANALYSIS: How our health care system cripples small business

By Wendell Potter

Small business innovation is being stifled by a health care system that send our 'best and brightest' to large corporations

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… , which will begin to at least level the playing field for small firms.The insurance industry has been right there with the Chamber in opposing important parts of the r …"

ANALYSIS: Insurance exchanges tilted toward health insurers, not consumers

By Wendell Potter

Appointments to boards governing insurance exchanges raise doubts about just who's being protected

Excerpts from this story referencing "insurance industry":

"… don’t get jobs as henhouse guards by revealing their true intentions. …"

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