In last night's speech by @POTUS, something stood out to me that was overlooked by many pundits: the president spoke of the NEED to fix sky-high health insurance deductibles immediately. It's not the sexiest topic, but here's why it matters:
Many think that the only ones suffering in this health care system are those without insurance. They're struggling big time, but know who else is? People with BAD insurance. The fact is, millions of Americans can’t use their coverage because their deductibles are so damn high.
These millions of Americans with bad plans don't go to the doctor or get the care they need, like cancer treatments that could save their lives. Why? Because they don’t have enough money to cover their deductible: the amount you have to pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in.
Dems are talking about providing an extra $200 billion to subsidize premiums people pay for Obamacare plans. Insurers love that idea of course. To get that $$, insurers should be forced to slash or eliminate deductibles.
High out-of-pocket costs have become an American scandal.

For now, insurance companies & their shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank. Forcing us to pay through the nose means they pay far fewer of our medical bills. No wonder insurers posted record profits last yr.
Paying high deductibles & copays is like paying a massive bill for the right to use Netflix, and then still having to pay for each minute of each episode of "Tiger King" (or whatever the hell they're showing these days).

And oh yeah, it's for basic health care to keep you alive.
The system is a total mess that's bankrupting and killing millions of Americans. And the insurance companies are hoping we won't notice. I know because I used to work for them. The bad news for them is the @POTUS has taken notice. If he acts on this, it could save a lot of lives.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Wendell Potter

Wendell Potter Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @wendellpotter

19 Apr
Get this, my former health insurance industry colleagues are trying to intimidate lawmakers again - this time in Connecticut - because the state government has the gall to consider a public health plan that could compromise some of the industry’s massive profits. It's despicable.
If I were still in my old job as head of comms at Cigna, I bet I would have had to write a self-serving letter to Connecticut’s governor – signed by the country’s biggest insurer CEOs – implying that they'd consider taking jobs out of the state if they don’t get their way.
And that’s just what happened. The PR chiefs of those companies wrote to CT’s governor & tried to intimidate him. This is the kind of stuff that made me leave the industry & become a whistleblower. I couldn't stomach misleading Americans so a few rich people could get even richer Image
Read 9 tweets
15 Apr
Democrats are not yet on the same page about what health care reform proposals to include in their infrastructure bill. As a former health insurance executive, I’ve got a suggestion: lower deductibles and co-pays. And do it fast.
Some Democrats seem to be turning a blind eye to the fact millions of Americans WITH INSURANCE can’t use it anymore.
A favorite campaign talking point last year was that 150 million Americans have private insurance and don’t want to lose it. What most politicians avoided saying is that more and more of those Americans can’t use their insurance.
Read 11 tweets
9 Apr
The only reason you’re seeing this Tweet by me is because of a man named Stan Brock – whose work inspired me to leave my old job as an insurance executive.

Few people in my life have been as consequential as Stan. And he’s been even more consequential to thousands of others.
A remarkable movie about him has just been released, and I hope you’ll watch it.

"Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story" is screening nationwide til April 20 as part of the Cleveland International Film Festival @CIFF and it’s in competition for the festival’s Global Health Prize.
Stan, who starred in the popular TV series Wild Kingdom when I was a kid, went on to found Remote Area Medical in the ‘80s to fly doctors to remote parts of the globe. He was shocked when folks from the US started begging him to bring free medical care to their communities.
Read 9 tweets
23 Mar
10 years ago today, on the 1st anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, I wrote about the good things the law did, but stressed that we needed to view it as only the *starting* point of a journey toward needed reform.

Unfortunately, we have not made much progress on that journey.
Although ~20 million now have health insurance as a result of the law, a huge growing percent can’t use that insurance to get the care they need. That’s because Congress & the Obama admin were too focused on premiums... exactly what the insurance industry wanted them to focus on!
Focusing on premiums meant that Dems gave scant attention to how insurers would pick Americans’ pockets by jacking up *deductibles* year after year. In fact, deductibles are patients’ biggest struggle now, more than having enough doctors in-network, or even the price of premiums.
Read 10 tweets
4 Mar
As a former health insurance exec who quit the business, let me tell you: No one will be more excited about the new COVID package than my old friends in the corporate insurance industry. It would funnel $48 billion of taxpayer $ to them, after their most profitable year to date.
The COVID bill would temporarily pay for ACA marketplace plans & COBRA subsidies for people who lost their jobs and insurance. That would check off a major item on insurers’ wishlist because it guarantees payment to our wasteful system that’s burdened by 30% administrative costs.
A more economical approach? Open our existing Medicare program (with a 2% admin. cost) for the Americans hardest-hit by COVID-19. This would allow folks to access the care many desperately need without Uncle Sam (you) footing a bloated bill.
Read 4 tweets
25 Feb
As a former health insurance exec, here's a trick my old industry does that is particularly vile: The @USChamber has cultivated a brand synonymous w/ small town pride & local business. But here's the truth: these orgs are front groups for the corporate health insurance industry.
A new report from the @NYHCampaign & NY Metro Chapter of @PNHP reveals why local and regional Chambers & other business groups in NY lobby against single-payer health plans, even though it would financially benefit their small business members: actionnetwork.org/user_files/use…
Why are these business groups fighting policies that would help their Main Street members? The answer, as always, is the corrupting influence of big money.
Read 13 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!