[quote=blake]Here’s a leech:
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What happened next is starkly summarized in a 1995 letter sent to Premera Blue Cross by a woman in Eastern Washington.
A few months before she gave birth that year, the woman bought an individual policy from Premera. As soon as the insurer paid her hospital expenses, the woman canceled the policy, telling Premera “we will do business with you again when we are pregnant.”
True to her word, in 1996, she bought insurance, Premera said, once again canceling after the insurer paid for the delivery of her next child.
Altogether, she paid in $1,807 in premiums. Premera paid out $7,024.68 in medical bills.
You don’t have to be a business genius to recognize the problem with those numbers when multiplied by thousands of customers.
Claims went up. Premiums rose. Pretty soon only sick people thought insurance was worth the cost. Premiums rose even more.
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Not surprising at all. People are intrinsically selfish. They will always look out for number one first. If left up to the individual, we would all not have car insurance and simply call All State or Farmers to sign up after a collision.
A San Diego city retiree once bragged to me that when she goes to the doctor, she always demands branded medications. When I simply suggested why not try equivalent generics and maybe save fellow taxpayers some money, she said she earned the rights to use branded medications working for the city. A LA Unified retiree had the same sentiment in a different convo. again, as long as I benefit, screw the rest of y’all.
