So let's get this straight. An insurance company CEO wants us to work longer so that we can afford to purchase his product. Does anyone else feel like kicking that guy in the behind? When I think about the concept of insurance I think of prohibtion-era mobsters. Specifically, gangsters shaking down businesses for 'protection' money so the mom and pop shop could operate without fear of being robbed, ransacked, beaten or murdered. So there they were, paying a sum of money for the privilege of being left alone.
Why are we as a society paying billions of dollars every year to insurance companies? Health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, home owner's insurance and flood insurance to name a few. There are hundreds of other insurances that fall under each of the main types called 'riders'. Let's not forget prescription insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, cancer insurance, jewelry insurance and pet insurance, and long-term care insurance. You need an interpreter to read a standard policy let alone the 'exclusions', herein referred to as "we ain't paying you shit".
We are even legally obligated to purchase certain types of insurance such as auto. Wouldn't it have been great to be a fly on the wall on capital hill when the private industry dude convinced the legislators to make his product mandatory? Yep. Imagine the melody blasting in the dude's head when he heard how we as a society would be fined, even jailed, if we didn't yield and purchase his product that provides NO SERVICE? I imagine it sounded something akin to the Hallelujah Chorus. We've even been brainwashed to believe that we all need insurance.
To illustrate the insurance industry's concern for its customers, in an ABC, medpageTODAY article from February 11, 2010, it was reported that,
Even as I write this, I am watching Face the Nation on CBS. Although their discussion focus is on the up coming presidential election, they keep talking about President Obama's Healthcare Reform and its chances of being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Not surprisingly, the players quickly talked about insurance premiums skyrocketing if the part of the bill about coverage of pre-existing conditions is eliminated. Really? Do they hear themselves? Does anyone else hear what I do?
It has been a longstanding human truth that we need food and shelter to survive. If the insurance industry is left to its devices and it continues to siphon cash from providers and consumers without providing any real service, we will be adding 'insurance coverage' to that truth. Is that what we want? I think not.
Why are we as a society paying billions of dollars every year to insurance companies? Health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, home owner's insurance and flood insurance to name a few. There are hundreds of other insurances that fall under each of the main types called 'riders'. Let's not forget prescription insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, cancer insurance, jewelry insurance and pet insurance, and long-term care insurance. You need an interpreter to read a standard policy let alone the 'exclusions', herein referred to as "we ain't paying you shit".
We are even legally obligated to purchase certain types of insurance such as auto. Wouldn't it have been great to be a fly on the wall on capital hill when the private industry dude convinced the legislators to make his product mandatory? Yep. Imagine the melody blasting in the dude's head when he heard how we as a society would be fined, even jailed, if we didn't yield and purchase his product that provides NO SERVICE? I imagine it sounded something akin to the Hallelujah Chorus. We've even been brainwashed to believe that we all need insurance.
To illustrate the insurance industry's concern for its customers, in an ABC, medpageTODAY article from February 11, 2010, it was reported that,
"...In the midst of a deep economic recession, America's health insurance companies increased their profits by 56 percent in 2009, a year that saw 2.7 million people lose their private coverage.
The nation's five largest for-profit insurers closed 2009 with a combined profit of $12.2 billion, according to a report by the advocacy group Health Care for American Now (HCAN)..."
Even as I write this, I am watching Face the Nation on CBS. Although their discussion focus is on the up coming presidential election, they keep talking about President Obama's Healthcare Reform and its chances of being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Not surprisingly, the players quickly talked about insurance premiums skyrocketing if the part of the bill about coverage of pre-existing conditions is eliminated. Really? Do they hear themselves? Does anyone else hear what I do?
It has been a longstanding human truth that we need food and shelter to survive. If the insurance industry is left to its devices and it continues to siphon cash from providers and consumers without providing any real service, we will be adding 'insurance coverage' to that truth. Is that what we want? I think not.
