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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2005, at 11:06:25
From "The World According to my Therapist"
Health insurance companies have it all figured out. What a way to do business! It's like the rebates you get when you buy a computer from Circuit City. They hand out a bunch of rebates, but not everybody sends them in (I do, and you do, but not everybody), so they don't have to pay on those. And then people send them in, but forget that they are supposed to be getting a check for $50, or $100, and if they don't get it, they never notice. Plus they send the rebate checks in envelopes that look like junk mail, so some people throw them away without opening them - and if the check isn't cashed, they don't have to pay the money.
What other business do you know that "loses" stuff? The Electric company never loses my check... But the Health insurance company "loses" some claims. And people forget to go after them for it. Or people are too wrapped up in their cancer, or their mental illness, to go after them for it. People aren't willing to go through all the hassle for $30 here or $50 there. They deny claims and people don't appeal because they assume that they will lose. All of those $30 and $50 add up to big bucks for the insurance company.
It is *so* true. What a brilliant way to do business. You can advertise wonderful benefits, but if the benefits are hard to "get", then people won't bother and you don't have to pay for them.
How did he get *SO* smart?
Posted by Tabitha on February 11, 2005, at 11:30:04
In reply to How insurance companies make money, posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2005, at 11:06:25
Yes I think they make it intentionally difficult, and are sloppy about making payments, just to increase their profits. A lot of times I just tax deduct the out of pocket rather than dealing with the claim process. It's like getting 30% coverage without any hassle.
And now that you mention it I think I have one of those CompUSA rebate slips sitting on my desk waiting to be mailed in. Those have the extra anti-incentive that you know you'll be getting junk mail from them forever along with your rebate.
Posted by pegasus on February 11, 2005, at 14:23:45
In reply to How insurance companies make money, posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2005, at 11:06:25
How very interesting that you bring this up today.
I just got off the phone with the last of about 50 people that I talked to trying to get a claim straightened out. I guess I was feeling stubborn today. I even cried on two of them. Shameless! But in the end, I figured out what the problem was, and they say they'll fix it. Victory! Except they probably won't fix it and I'll have to go through the whole thing again when I get another bill next month. I think the only reason I stuck with it was because I *know* they do this on purpose thinking I'll give up. But darnit, they owed me that money! I pay enough for the coverage.
It was only over about $42 too.
pegasus
Posted by Shortelise on February 11, 2005, at 15:16:46
In reply to How insurance companies make money, posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2005, at 11:06:25
This is the end of the thread.
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