Wendell Potter's Blog, page 19

Insurers Following ‘The Playbook’ in Opposing California Ballot Initiative

PR firms, front groups, misleading studies all being deployed. LOS ANGELES — As I wrote in my book, Deadly Spin, the health insurance industry and other special interest groups use a tried-and-true set of tactics to push back against threats to their profitability. I referred to those tactics collectively as “The Playbook on How to [...]

States Finally Taking Action to Improve Access to Critical Dental Care

Author’s Note: This post is part of a series examining America’s oral health care crisis. Be sure to read the previous article, “Why a Trip to the Dentist Costs So Much Now — And What We Can Do About It.” Lack of access to dental care has reached such crisis proportions in the United States [...]

Introducing a New ‘Metal’ Tier: Fool’s Gold?

Now that Americans have a choice of affordable, quality health plans, do we really need one more ‘metal’ plan … with sky-high deductibles? The health insurance industry’s top lobbyist is suggesting that what our health care system needs now is a new kind of insurance policy that has a lower premium but that also provides [...]

Keeping an Eye on Insurance Companies That Refuse to Pay Claims

All-too-common Arizona case only got resolved following media attention. After writing a couple weeks back that we need to keep an eye on profit-hungry health insurers to make sure they are not refusing to pay for medically necessary care, I got a flood of emails and tweets from people with stories to share. That column [...]

The Canadian Health Care System I Disparaged

Single-payer regime up north represents a better way. When I returned home after a two-week speaking tour of Canada and began catching up on news about Obamacare, I was angry and upset, and not just at politicians and special interests that benefit from deception-based PR tactics. I was—and still am—mostly angry and upset with myself. [...]

Be the ‘Squeaky Wheel’ if Health Claim Denied

Industry will find ways to stay profitable.  The good news from last week was that 8 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through the Obamacare-created exchanges. The not so good news is that because most of us have to buy coverage from a private insurer, we will always have to be vigilant to [...]

The Dental Crisis That’s Driving Patients Away

Frustrated by rising dental costs and skimpy coverage, millions are desperate to find cheaper services – even if it means leaving the U.S. When increasing numbers of Americans cross the Mexican border to see a dentist – traveling from as far away as Chicago and even Alaska – you know we’ve got a growing health [...]

American-Style Health Care System Pushed in Canada

Prime minister pushing free market principles for single-payer system. VANCOUVER, British Columbia — During the year leading up to the 2008 presidential primaries, my insurance industry colleagues and I were working hard to influence the debate on health care reform. Our number one objective: make Americans so afraid of “heading down the slippery slope toward [...]

Obamacare: Irreplaceable, Irrepealable

With growing public support and enrollment, health reform opponents won’t be able to repeal the law — but don’t expect them to stop trying. The Obama administration and supporters of the Affordable Care Act were able to breath a sign of relief when the health plan numbers came in this week. The original goal of [...]

WellPoint Scare Tactics

Commentary: insurer’s tactics seem counterproductive, just as they were four years ago.  Executives at health insurance giant WellPoint are predicting they will have to implement “double-digit plus” rate increases next year, demonstrating once again just how politically tone deaf and profit-obsessed they apparently are. When I read WellPoint CEO Joe Swedish comments in Modern Healthcare [...]