Comments on: Health Net Pays $9 Million for Canceling Patient’s Policy http://trishatorrey.com/2008/02/27/health-net-pays-9-million-for-cancelling-patients-policy/ A blog about patient empowerment, advocacy, safety, consumerism and tools to navigate the dysfunction of American health care. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:13:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Trisha Torrey http://trishatorrey.com/2008/02/27/health-net-pays-9-million-for-cancelling-patients-policy/comment-page-1/#comment-523 Trisha Torrey Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:14:05 +0000 http://trishatorrey.com/2008/02/27/health-net-pays-9-million-for-cancelling-patients-policy/#comment-523 Lisa, You make an excellent point -- where is that $9 million going to come from? I don't find the answer in any of the news reports, but it's entirely possible the courts stated that the money had to come from existing money and could not be raised by increasing premiums, not this year, not next, etc. A smart consumer remembers this when it comes time to change health insurance companies -- December or whenever. Because Health Net will be looking for some way to refill the till. Thanks for your post. Trisha Lisa,

You make an excellent point — where is that $9 million going to come from? I don’t find the answer in any of the news reports, but it’s entirely possible the courts stated that the money had to come from existing money and could not be raised by increasing premiums, not this year, not next, etc.

A smart consumer remembers this when it comes time to change health insurance companies — December or whenever. Because Health Net will be looking for some way to refill the till.

Thanks for your post.
Trisha

]]> By: Lisa Emrich http://trishatorrey.com/2008/02/27/health-net-pays-9-million-for-cancelling-patients-policy/comment-page-1/#comment-520 Lisa Emrich Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:26:20 +0000 http://trishatorrey.com/2008/02/27/health-net-pays-9-million-for-cancelling-patients-policy/#comment-520 Trisha, this does churn my stomach and make me angry at HealthNet and any other insurance companies which are conducting business the same way. But it also bothers me that so much money would be paid out to award patients such as Patsy (who was able to find a program to continue her treatments) and paid out as penalties for cancelling policies. That money came from somewhere, and not likely all from HealthNet investments. That money came from policy holders who paid their premiums ontime and trusted HealthNet to cover agreed-upon medical expenses. That also churns my stomach and makes me doubt my own sense of fairness when examining corrupt health insurance behavior. Trisha, this does churn my stomach and make me angry at HealthNet and any other insurance companies which are conducting business the same way. But it also bothers me that so much money would be paid out to award patients such as Patsy (who was able to find a program to continue her treatments) and paid out as penalties for cancelling policies. That money came from somewhere, and not likely all from HealthNet investments. That money came from policy holders who paid their premiums ontime and trusted HealthNet to cover agreed-upon medical expenses. That also churns my stomach and makes me doubt my own sense of fairness when examining corrupt health insurance behavior.

]]>