Junk Insurance
The fact that there are insurance companies wrote insurance policies that are both cheap and don't cover much is not big news.
Back in the 1980's there was something similar happening in the Medi Gap insurance market. Senior citizens bought policies that they thought would pay the rest of the bills that Medicare did not cover. They realized that Medicare would not pay for everything and the policies were popular. According to the Inquirer back in 1987 about 80% of those over 65 had Medi Gap policies.
Insurance experts back then realized that most Medi Gap policies were a bad deal, costing too much and paying out too little. The companies made money, the agents made big commissions and the customers were left holding the bag. Less than 60 cents was being paid out for each dollar received in premiums. Good health insurance should pay out at least 85 cents per premium dollar.
Claude Red Pepper a really old guy in congress fought the insurance companies on this issue and it was a really big issue in Florida with all the retirees down here. The individual state insurance commissions that regulated the field were doing a crappy job back then and this brought on federal action.
The website needs to get fixed, Medicaid in Florida needs to be expanded and the next problem of making sure that there are enough doctors, nurses, and related health care professionals trained and working will need to be addressed.
We need more cooperation and more than a little goodwill and people need jobs and a reasonable income because that is the best social program of all.
Back in the 1980's there was something similar happening in the Medi Gap insurance market. Senior citizens bought policies that they thought would pay the rest of the bills that Medicare did not cover. They realized that Medicare would not pay for everything and the policies were popular. According to the Inquirer back in 1987 about 80% of those over 65 had Medi Gap policies.
Insurance experts back then realized that most Medi Gap policies were a bad deal, costing too much and paying out too little. The companies made money, the agents made big commissions and the customers were left holding the bag. Less than 60 cents was being paid out for each dollar received in premiums. Good health insurance should pay out at least 85 cents per premium dollar.
Claude Red Pepper a really old guy in congress fought the insurance companies on this issue and it was a really big issue in Florida with all the retirees down here. The individual state insurance commissions that regulated the field were doing a crappy job back then and this brought on federal action.
The website needs to get fixed, Medicaid in Florida needs to be expanded and the next problem of making sure that there are enough doctors, nurses, and related health care professionals trained and working will need to be addressed.
We need more cooperation and more than a little goodwill and people need jobs and a reasonable income because that is the best social program of all.
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