Aetna? Blue Cross? United Health Care?
Nope ... Uncle Sam:
According to the American Medical Association's National Health Insurer Report Card for 2008, the government's health plan, Medicare, denied medical claims at nearly double the average for private insurers: Medicare denied 6.85% of claims. The highest private insurance denier was Aetna @ 6.8%, followed by Anthem Blue Cross @ 3.44, with an average denial rate of medical claims by private insurers of 3.88%
Of course Democrats keep telling us that outrageous denial of claims by private insurers is the primary reason why we MUST have a government-controlled health care system. Liberals have continually trotted out bogus statistics (private insurers "deny 1 out of every 5 treatments prescribed by doctors", etc.) and fishy sob stories in order to scare the general public into believing that only government intervention can guarantee access to medical care with zero risk of denials.
If you combine Medicare's current denial rate with their dismal reimbursements, cumbersome red tape, and abundant fraud, and then imagine an expansion of that system on a scale that will eventually control every single medical procedure in the United States, you end up with one hell of a health care nightmare.
As if we needed yet another reason to fear government health care "reform."
(h/t Say Anything)
ADDED: PowerLine's John Hinderaker wonders how many of the claims Medicare denies are a product of the fraud that is so rampant in its system. Still, his conclusion is right on target: "... it is certainly true that once the government has your health care safely in its hands, it will treat you with the same shoddy carelessness that typifies every socialized medicine system in the world."
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Comments (7)
I wonder how many claims th... (Below threshold)1. Posted by bobdog | December 20, 2009 9:46 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
I wonder how many claims they'll have to deny to save or create the $500 billion they're cutting from Medicare...
1. Posted by bobdog | December 20, 2009 9:46 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on December 20, 2009 21:46
2. Posted by GarandFan | December 20, 2009 11:01 PM | Score: 9 (9 votes cast)
Noticed AARP has a new ad for a health insurance policy they're pushing FOR MEDICARE patients. You don't suppose that's why they're pushing for ObamaCare, do you?
2. Posted by GarandFan | December 20, 2009 11:01 PM |
Score: 9 (9 votes cast)
Posted on December 20, 2009 23:01
3. Posted by 914 | December 21, 2009 12:45 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
1 am voting & payoff bribe's in the morning is so transparent of Barry Seizer and commiepanion's.
"I wonder how many claims they'll have to deny to save or create the $500 billion they're cutting from Medicare..."
None, Julius will simply create a value added tax of 6% to Your paycheck and call it His gift to the rabble.
3. Posted by 914 | December 21, 2009 12:45 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 21, 2009 00:45
4. Posted by Becky | December 21, 2009 1:59 AM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Very interesting (medicare denies more claims than private claims). I hope that other people read this blog and realize it. There is so much to health care that a lot of people are not aware of. I think it is time that everyone get educated on the subject. I have to admit I was one who did not understand it myself. However with the news about the possible health care reform, I decided to become educated. A friend suggested a great book to me titled, "Bend the Health Care Trend," by Mark S. Gaunya and Jennifer A. Borislow. I was amazed at how Simple and easy to understand. What I appreciated the most was the practical and real life case studies at the end of every chapter that highlight the principals outlined in the chapter. I now feel like an insurance guru- ok not quite, but feel a lot more educated.
4. Posted by Becky | December 21, 2009 1:59 AM |
Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on December 21, 2009 01:59
5. Posted by epador | December 21, 2009 1:59 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
While there is fraud in the Medicare system, a lot that gets called fraud is related to relatively "poor" record keeping by providers that doesn't live up to strict guidelines - and when a Medicare auditor randomly reviews a small number of charts, they extrapolate the error rate to all the Medicare encounters for that provider, and ding them a huge amount for their "fraud." Thus providers are forced to spend more and more time documenting details to justify their billing, providing proportionally less time face to face with their patients and working with each other.
Keep that in mind when envisioning the unicorns and rainbows of government options.
5. Posted by epador | December 21, 2009 1:59 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 21, 2009 01:59
6. Posted by poptoy | December 21, 2009 5:43 AM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
It is past time to get the Kenyan to agree to common sense. He reminds me of Huey P. Long and all of his Populism. It did not work in Louisiana and it will not work on a national scale. Older people will hurt the most. When has taking advantage of older people become a national crusade? I hope never. You had better hope so also.
6. Posted by poptoy | December 21, 2009 5:43 AM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on December 21, 2009 05:43
7. Posted by Oyster | December 21, 2009 12:55 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
"PowerLine's John Hinderaker wonders how many of the claims Medicare denies are a product of the fraud that is so rampant in its system."
And there's fraud in private insurance too. How much of their denials are a result of discovering fraud?
If we knew how many in either case was the result of discovering fraud, how much would you bet that Medicare will still be considerably higher?
7. Posted by Oyster | December 21, 2009 12:55 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 21, 2009 12:55