Standing together is the cure

Earlier this week in Japan, the corporation that runs the trains apologize because one of the trains left the station 20 seconds to early. They were afraid they may have inconvenienced their customers.

The same day in Connecticut, Hartford Healthcare Corporation refused to agree to arbitration in a dispute with anthem insurance, a dispute that affected patients cross the state.

(Late yesterday, HHC and Anthem FINALLY came to an agreement with had left patients in limbo for 7 weeks)

“I had heart surgery. My electrophysiologist cardiologist is part of Hartford Health Care. When I contacted BC/BS I was told the doctor was still in network. When I arrived for my appointment, having taken a sick day to do so, I was informed by the nurse that the doctor was not accepting BC/BS patients and that BC/BS had mistakenly told several patients the same information.

I am now overdue for a check up of my heart and am very distressed. This situation must be resolved.”

This was just one of the many stories we received at AFT Connecticut from our members in response to an email we sent them detailing our involvement in the ongoing dispute between Anthem Insurance and Hartford Healthcare Corporation.

Jan, our president, personally answered the emails.

When I pushed back that that was too much for her to do, she would have none of it.

“John,” she said, “I understand, this is my story too.”

Jan recently ended up in the ER and received a bill from Hartford Healthcare stating she owed them nearly $4,000 and that because of the ongoing dispute with Anthem, she was responsible for all of it.

I made a few phone calls.

Turns out, it was a scare tactic designed to get patients to call Anthem in a panic and beg them to settle with Hartford.

In reality, even if the dispute had not been settled, she was responsible for the "out of network" copayment, not the entire bill.

She, and many other patients affected, are but pawns in a cruel chess game between Anthem and Hartford.

It makes me sick.

As Insurance companies and healthcare corporations get larger and larger, and there becomes fewer and fewer of them, we can expect more of these disputes that use patients as the pawns, because there is insufficient regulation in the industry to protect patients.

But hey, we want our state and our country to be “pro business” right?

If we cut regulations and cut corporate tax rates, businesses will be able to expand, become more efficient, and create great jobs and we will all be better, right?

The truth of the matter is that “business ethics” is too often a class taught in university, not a thing in real life.

We allow healthcare corporations and insurance companies to merge unchecked because it is creating a  “pro business” state. Meanwhile, the executives of Anthem and Hartford Healthcare are making millions of dollars a year, while patients suffer as the pawns in their high stake chess game.
It’s sickening!

We push a tax bill through congress that cuts corporate taxes because we are creating a pro business country.

Meanwhile, top campaign donors get “payback”, while the rest of us face higher taxes (and higher insurance premiums if they repeal the individual mandate.)

It’s sickening!

Until workers wake up and realize that we are all in this together and need to stand together in order to have the power to push back, this will continue.

Don’t talk to me about being “pro business."

Tell me you’re “pro patient.”

Tell me you’re “pro student.”

Tell me you’re “pro worker.”

Chemo makes a cancer patient nauseous because its a poison. 
This "pro business" ethics makes me sick for the same reason...
Its a poison.
Workers standing together is the cure.

Connecticut Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney has promised to reintroduce legislation creating a binding arbitration process to settle contract disputes between insurers and hospitals that the parties cannot solve on their own.

I support this.

If healthcare executives and Congress won’t act ethically on behalf of their patients and the electorate, then we need to act for them.