Activists protest health insurance premium increases
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
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Lance Haver is Philadelphia's Director of Consumer Affairs. He says premium increases from 20 to 50 percent proposed by Independence Blue Cross for plans offered to people regardless of pre-existing conditions will make healthcare insurance costs prohibitive for unemployed workers. He says the company believes customers will opt for cheaper plans that provide less coverage.
Haver: What they say is that people are going to switch from one plan to another plan and some people will lose it. right now looking at the filing their estimate is 3,500 people will lose their coverage.
Activists say the increase shows a need for alternative coverage that should be affordable and offered by the federal government.
A spokesperson for Independence Blue Cross says the company is losing money on the plans and is trying to cover increased costs.
IBX is a "non profit", why is it targeting only people who cannot collectively bargin? Is it "losing money" on it's group plans that are not changing and if not, why not?
Where is the reporting? Where is the coverage of the protests? Why do all of these stories cover so little of what people who are damaged by these policies or who work to stop them have to say?