As I See It: Congress needs to question health insurers about their COVID-19 response
It is all but certain that there will be a public reckoning for elected officials, public health authorities and corporate leaders when the crisis the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends and America has a sober moment to assess who did or didn't answer the call to serve our fellow citizens and nation.
Initial reports over the last few months leave little doubt that history will conclude our nation owes a debt of gratitude to a number of individuals and organizations, chief among them doctors, nurses and other medical providers who risked their own health and lives to serve on the front lines of the battle against the virus.
But others have either failed to answer the call – or even worse. There have been, for example, online merchants who have been accused of price-gouging, as well as black-market profiteers who appeared to stockpile masks, hand-sanitizers and other essential supplies as thousands of Americans suffered or died.
Some industries, too, will have to account for their behavior, chief among them health insurers. Even as other industries have suffered shattering losses amid the shutdown, insurance companies have seen record profits, in large part by engaging in cost-cutting efforts that have come at the expense of patients and health-care providers.
These efforts include denying coverage to patients as COVID-19 ravaged communities, as well as strong-arming health care providers to accept cuts to reimbursement rates at a time when they can least afford a reduction in revenues given the demands being placed on a health care system overwhelmed by legions of sick individuals.
Now,
Neal has rightfully stood up to the rent-seeking behavior of
At a time when the need to ensure access to health care for all our citizens could not be greater, the insurance industry has erected hurdles, including shrinking coverage networks for patients and even lobbying
Their strategy seems to be paying off. For example,
Anyone who doubts this should consider the record we now have largely thanks to media reports and independent analysis, not any government oversight or accounting. It has been reported that doctors are struggling to keep up with perpetually changing coverage plans from health insurers. And despite the fact that states have issued more than 320 emergency measures aimed at compelling insurers to ease access, many people who got tested for the virus are being hit with unexpected costs by insurers.
Adding insult to injury, insurance companies unleashed their lobbyists on
The litany of offenses committed by insurance companies is already prompting a debate about industry practices that too often fly below the public radar under normal circumstances. In one sense, it is true that insurance companies are up to their same old tricks – it's just that the stakes are so high now that people are starting to pay attention.
But those who dare stand up to the insurance companies do so at their own risk. Case in point is a new smear campaign being waged against Neal, who has opposed efforts by insurance companies to drive down reimbursement rates to doctors and other medical providers.
Fight Corporate Monopolies, a dark-money group with yet undisclosed financial resources, is flooding the airwaves with disparaging ads. They allege that Neal, who is being challenged by
The situation playing out in
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