Category Archives: Health Insurance

Thrivent changing to treat all people better? “we will change from within” or just trying to placate blacks, Admitting their “core Christian beliefs” a ruse?

Thrivent changing to treat all people better? “we will change from within” or just trying to placate blacks, Admitting their “core Christian beliefs” a ruse?

“You don’t need to be Christian to join our team.”…Thrivent job opening ad

“I worked at Thrivent Financial full-time (More than 8 years)”                      “Claims to be based on Christian values but does not adhere to them.”…Former Thrivent employee

“pre-dispute mandatory arbitration provisions are inappropriate in insurance policies and incompatible with the legal duties insurers owe policyholders when handling their claims.”…NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, August 15, 2016

 

Is Thrivent changing their evil ways?

A good start would be to remove so many attorneys from key positions, quit using high powered law firms who brag about defeating claim filers, actually act out “core Christian beliefs” and reverse their retroactively changed contract to remove mandated and allow optional mediation and arbitration in the dispute resolution process.

From Each Story Told.

“As I read the following news release from Teresa Rasmussen, President and CEO of Thrivent Financial, I was reminded of Starbucks shutting down years ago to retrain their employees on making coffee.

I thought then how foolish it looked to be training employees on how to make coffee. If I was foolish enough to have not already been training my employees on how to make coffee, I am not sure I would admit it.

The same goes for Thrivent, formerly Aid Association for Lutherans.

Thrivent for decades has touted their Christian beliefs and concerns for members.

Are they finally admitting it was all a ruse, a clever wolf in sheep’s clothing scenario?

Are they willing to apologize to me and countless others for the fraud they have perpetuated and the shameless way they treated us?

For their corrupt mandated arbitration enacted retroactively?

Really care about economic insecurity?

Or are they just trying to placate blacks?

From Thrivent and Teresa Rasmussen July 10, 2020.

“Letter From Our CEO: Doing What’s Right As We Travel The Long Road To Change”
“Together we will take immediate action – and invest in long-term change – to help address racism, discrimination and economic insecurity.

At Thrivent we believe humanity thrives when people make the most of all God has given them. Yet the ability to thrive is fundamentally hindered for those who disproportionately face systemic inequities, racism and discrimination due to the color of their skin.

As we continue to grapple with the tragic killing of George Floyd and the resulting anger, frustration and sorrow in our communities, we know that what happened not only to Mr. Floyd, but many before him, calls for real change.

The issue is so deeply rooted that there is not one answer, one remedy or one solution. Bringing meaningful change to these problems will, at the very least, take deep soul-searching and personal growth from people and institutions. It will require investing in, and supporting, one another for Thrivent to be inclusive and diverse with abundant and equitable opportunities for all.

As an organization, we will change from within. We will seek, identify and hire diverse talent that clearly reflects the communities in which we operate and serve. We understand that Black, Indigenous, and people of color receive disproportionately less mentorship, growth opportunities and advancement in the American workplace. We will ensure this is not the case at Thrivent, and we will hold our leaders accountable to this mission.”

Read more:

http://eachstorytold.com/2020/07/28/thrivent-ceo-rasmussen-doing-whats-right-as-we-travel-the-long-road-to-change-address-economic-insecurity-we-will-change-from-within-all-lives-matter-treat-all-people-honestly-and-re/

My claims experience with Thrivent can be found here:

http://eachstorytold.com/category/my-claim-story/

George Tiedemann’s experience:

http://eachstorytold.com/2018/06/24/george-tiedemann-obituary-mr-tiedemann-featured-in-wsj-article-about-thrivent-some-life-insurers-play-by-different-rules-george-and-lucy-tiedemann-navigated-the-dispute-resolut/

Racism at Thrivent. You decide:

“Executive sues Thrivent, saying he was fired because he is black”

“A black executive claims he was fired as president of a Thrivent Financial subsidiary because he accused a co-worker of racial discrimination, according to a lawsuit he filed against the financial services firm.

Gregory M. Smith, who said he was recruited by Thrivent in 2016 to help grow its network of independent insurance brokers, said he was stunned to encounter discrimination at a Fortune 500 company whose mission is “helping Christians be wise with money and live generously.”

“I was shocked,” said Smith, 56, who has worked at some of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. “I have never been treated so badly in my life.”

In a written statement, Thrivent denied the allegations and predicted the company will win the court battle over the lawsuit filed this month in Hennepin County.”

“Within months, Smith had laid off about half of his 15-member staff, most of whom quickly found jobs with other Thrivent companies, according to Smith’s attorney, Clayton Halunen. In an interview, Smith said some of the workers lacked the skills he needed, while others were terminated because he was concerned about their “exorbitant” spending on business trips. He said all of the terminated workers were white.

“I was the only person of color when I came in,” Smith said in the interview. His lawsuit claims that the presidents of seven other Thrivent subsidiaries are all white.”

“To celebrate, Smith said in the interview, he took his team out for dinner at the Capital Grille in downtown Minneapolis after work one night in December 2016. About 6 p.m., while waiting for some of his workers to show up, Smith said he strolled into the bar area and overheard Huth talking about him with another member of the team.

In the lawsuit, Smith said Huth allegedly said to the other worker: “We are going to get rid of that black piece of shit,” referring to him. In the lawsuit, Smith said Huth noticed him standing there and looked at him “sheepishly … apparently scared that he had overheard” the remark.””

Read more:

http://eachstorytold.com/2018/05/26/thrivent-executive-fired-gregory-m-smith-lawsuit-says-he-was-fired-because-he-is-black-represented-by-attorney-clayton-halunen-we-are-going-to-get-rid-of-that-black-piece-of-shit/

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

 

 

“Get ready for Obamacare sticker shock” Orwellian lie from Charlotte Observer repeated by Greensboro News Record, Narrative for election, Shift blame to Republicans, Shock and lies began in 2009, Premiums deductibles policy losses job losses health care losses, Tell big lie and repeat

“Get ready for Obamacare sticker shock” Orwellian lie from Charlotte Observer repeated by Greensboro News Record, Narrative for election, Shift blame to Republicans, Shock and lies began in 2009, Premiums deductibles policy losses job losses health care losses, Tell big lie and repeat

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”…NBC News October 29, 2013

 

The Obamacare debacle, sticker shock and tragedy began long before Donald Trump ran for office.

This was the doing of Barack Obama and the Democrats.

As predicted by their behavior  patterns, they screw things up and then create a narrative to shift the blame to Republicans.

They have had great success in the past due to their dumbed down sheeple followers.

From the Charlotte Observer May 9, 2018.

“Get ready for Obamacare sticker shock”

“States across the country, including North Carolina, can expect similar proposed hikes in coming months. Obamacare sticker shock is coming, and it’s going to hit rural areas especially hard.”

“When Republicans repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate, they changed the economic viability of the Affordable Care Act, which counted on healthy people’s premiums defraying some of the cost of insuring the less than healthy. In addition, the Trump administration scrapped subsidies to insurers and gave healthy folks more reason to leave the exchanges by allowing insurers greater room to offer thinner policies that cost less money.”

” It will be an election issue in November, and voters should remember this: Obamacare needed tweaks, but it was working, despite what the president and Republicans have long claimed. Millions more Americans had health care coverage. That coverage included benefits that insurance companies largely didn’t offer before Obamacare. Also, insurance premiums were rising at a rate lower than the years before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.

Now, for many, those premiums are about to go way up, and insurers are being given more leeway to offer less. What’s old is new again. And it’s exactly what Republicans wanted.”

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article210686554.html

You notice right off that the Orwellian weasles state “get ready” to shift the narrative out of the past to the future.

“they changed the economic viability of the Affordable Care Act” It was never viable!

“Now, for many, those premiums are about to go way up” NOW???

The Greensboro News Record, predictably, repeats the big lie.

“ACA sticker shock is coming”

“For many, those premiums are about to go way up, and insurers will be able to offer less. And it’s exactly what Republicans wanted.”

http://www.greensboro.com/opinion/columns/other-opinions-aca-sticker-shock-is-coming/article_8fed46ac-f056-5ecb-adb0-12f20a397550.html

As I recall, a repeal of Obamacare was what the Republicans wanted. The Democrats blocked it.

From the Citizen Wells archives. Not erased and not rectified.

August 1, 2009.

“This YouTube video reveals the hidden truth that Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the democrat congress are hiding from the American public.”

https://citizenwells.com/2009/08/01/obama-health-care-obamacare-hidden-truth-youtube-video-nancy-pelosi-shutting-out-public-abuse-of-power/

December 7, 2009.

“Another day, another study confirming that ObamaCare will increase the price of health insurance. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has found that premiums in the individual market will rise on average by 54% over the status quo, which translates into an extra $3,341 a year for families and $1,576 for singles. The White House denounced the report as a “sham” before it was even released, which shows how seriously it takes such concerns.”

https://citizenwells.com/2009/12/07/blue-cross-blue-shield-rate-increase-obama-lies-blue-cross-blue-patients-obamacare-study-premiums-rise-54-congressional-budget-office-pelosi-and-reid-lies/

March 16, 2012.

“The latest revelation, reported at The Hill, is that ObamaCare could cause up to 20 million Americans to lose their health care coverage. There is a “tremendous amount of uncertainty” in the forecast, which is just what our fragile Obamanized economy needs right now, but 20 million is the CBO’s worst-case estimate. Maybe it will only be 3 to 5 million people.

https://citizenwells.com/2012/03/16/cbo-real-truth-team-unemployment-rate-15-percent-obama-deficits-1-2-trillion-2012-obamacare-costs-rise-and-causes-millions-to-lose-employer-insurance/

June 28, 2012.

“I absolutely reject that notion [mandate is a tax].”…Barack Obama

“The US Supreme Court today, June 28, 2012, in their ruling today effectively called Obama a liar.”

https://citizenwells.com/2012/06/28/us-supreme-court-declares-obama-a-liar-obamacare-is-a-tax-obama-lied-about-tax-increases-obama-fraud-and-taxes-have-devastated-economy-and-job-market/

September 4, 2012.

“Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act.”…Guilford College student

“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?”…Ron Meyer

“I just spoke with a young man a few minutes ago who attends Greensboro College, a private college in NC. He mentioned that his health care costs had just almost doubled. Recently, reported here, was a report that the UNC system, NC public colleges, had almost doubled the health care costs for students and the reason was provisions in Obamacare.”

“Health Insurance Costs Skyrocket For College Students Due To ObamaCare”

“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?

A Young America’s Foundation activist forwarded an email from the Vice President for Finance at his school, Guilford College (Greensboro, NC), informing him that, “For the 2012-13 academic year, the annual cost of the student health insurance is increasing from $668 to $1,179. This insurance premium has been charged to your student account.”

Why the increase? “Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act.”

“Student healthcare choice has been replaced with expensive ObamaCare mandates.”

https://citizenwells.com/2012/09/04/dnc-convention-september-4-2012-obama-cares-with-obamacare-obamacare-doubles-nc-college-student-health-care-in-2012-lies-lies-more-obama-lies/

September 26, 2012.

“Premiums for employer-provided family coverage rose $3,065 — 24% — from 2008 to 2012, the Kaiser survey found. Even if you start counting in 2009, premiums have climbed $2,370.

What’s more, premiums climbed faster in Obama’s four years than they did in the previous four under President Bush, the survey data show.”

https://citizenwells.com/2012/09/26/health-premiums-up-3000-obama-promised-2500-cut-student-health-care-doubles-triples-and-more-obamacare-another-obama-lie-kaiser-survey/

March 4, 2013.

“However … health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each year.”…Guilford County Interim Manager Sharisse Fuller

“The county has cut costs for the past two years by increasing co-pays,
deductible amounts and out-of-pocket maximums for employees.

“Over the last four years, no merit increases have been awarded to
Guilford County employees,” Fuller said Friday in an email. “However
… health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have
continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county
employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each
year.””

““It looks to me like Obamacare is causing prices to go up and will
continue to make prices go up,” Henning said. “That’s something we’re
going to have to deal with, like everyone else in this economy.”

https://citizenwells.com/2013/03/04/guilford-county-nc-healthcare-cost-increases-may-cause-benefit-cuts-obamacare-costs-no-pay-raises-in-4-years-obamacare-is-causing-prices-to-go-up/

March 15, 2013.

“The nation’s big health insurers say they expect premiums — or the
cost for insurance coverage — to rise from 20 to 100 percent for
millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions
of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc., one of the nation’s largest
insurers, calls the price hikes “premium rate shock.”

“Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute and one of the
leading policy-based critics of Obamacare.

She said House Republicans are right to keep pushing for the repeal of
Obamacare because of the myriad ways it afflicts the nation’s fiscal
health.

“When you look at the overall impact of this law on the economy, we
know that it’s hugely important in depressing job creation,” she said.
“It’s forcing companies to put people on part-time when they need
full-time workers. The incredible number of new taxes, a trillion
dollars in new taxes in this law just in its own right. It is one of
the major factors that is depressing economic growth. When you have
economic growth depressed, you don’t have the tax revenue that you
need.””

https://citizenwells.com/2013/03/15/obamacare-sticker-shock-skyrocketing-health-care-costs-job-killer-millions-to-pay-20-to-100-percent-more-in-january-2014-obamacare-set-to-implode/

YOU GET THE PICTURE!

Search on Obamacare on this site for many more examples.

Obamacare imploding and damaging our health care system and economy.

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Obamacare premiums soar 91 percent, The Unaffordable health care act, CareFirst seeking 64% increase in Virginia and 91% increase in Maryland, Charlottesville woman’s plan already jumped from $640 to $1800 a month

2019 Obamacare premiums soar 91 percent, The Unaffordable health care act, CareFirst seeking 64% increase in Virginia and 91% increase in Maryland, Charlottesville woman’s plan already jumped from $640 to $1800 a month

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average next year”…Miami Herald September 26, 2017

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

From Zero Hedge.

“Death Spiral”: Obamacare Premiums May Soar As Much As 91% Next Year

Residents of Maryland and Virginia face double-digit percentage increases in premiums for individual Obamacare plans in 2019, according to rate requests made by insurers.

The largest hikes are being sought by CareFirst, which is seeking a 64% increase in Virginia, and a whopping 91% increase in Maryland for its PPO. Other insurers are following suit in the two states, with Kaiser requesting hikes of 32% and 37% respectively, followed by CareFirst’s HMO offering.

In Maryland, CareFirst wants to raise rates by 91 percent on a plan covering 15,000 people, Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer Jr. said. If approved, premiums for a 40-year-old could reach $1,334 a month. –Bloomberg

That’s over $16,000 per year for an individual plan in a state with an average personal income of $59,524.”

“We have folks in Maryland that are struggling, that are trying to do the right thing, and they’re paying more for their health insurance than they are for their mortgage,” Redmer said on a call with reporters.

Maryland is seeking permission from the federal government to create a reinsurance program that would use $975 million in state and federal funds over five years to lower rates. That would help only temporarily, Redmer said. –Bloomberg

I believe we’ve been in a death spiral for a year or two,” he said, adding that a permanent solution requires Congress to fix the Affordable Care Act.

Virginia and Maryland are the first two states in which 2019 rate requests – which are subject to regulatory approval and may change – have been made public, however increases are anticipated across the country as insurers adjust to the post-ACA battle. Final premium increases will need to be approved ahead of the November 1 open-enrollment period.”

“In Virginia, the health insurance market is quite sick – with Charlottesville and neighboring counties suffering under some of the most expensive healthcare costs in the nation for people who don’t receive government subsidies.

A 40-year-old trying to afford a mid-level plan will pay around $1,048 a month.

“Carol Wise, a former nurse and social worker in Charlottesville who consults for nonprofits, paid about $640 a month last year for an individual plan from Anthem,” repoorts Bloomberg. “When Anthem pulled out of her area, the only plan available, insurer Optima Health Plan, had a premium of $1,800 a month.”

“I was blown away,” said Wise, 62.

Wise instead joined a health-care sharing ministry for $280 a month, which offers far fewer protections than traditional coverage. ”

Read more:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-07/death-spiral-obamacare-premiums-may-soar-much-91-next-year

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

Charlottesville we warned you about Obamacare, Families shocked by 2018 premiums, Helpless and raging, Skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, Donna Brazile “Obama left the party $24 million in debt”

Charlottesville we warned you about Obamacare, Families shocked by 2018 premiums, Helpless and raging, Skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, Donna Brazile “Obama left the party $24 million in debt”

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average next year”…Miami Herald September 26, 2017

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

Donna Brazile: “Obama left the party $24 million in debt”.

They always put the Democrat Party first.

Obama doubled the national debt and destroyed our healthcare system as well as the budgets of millions of Americans.

We warned you, but your daddy always voted Democrat.

From Zero Hedge November 17, 2017.

“”Helpless, Raging” Charlottesville Families Shocked By These 2018 Obamacare Premiums…”It’s Horrific”

Over the past several months, Democrats have jumped on every opportunity possible to blame the Trump administration for yet another year of staggering Obamacare premium increases.  Ironically, despite arguments from the Left that Trump’s defunding of Obamacare’s marketing budget would cause 2018 signups to plunge, as Politico recently noted, they’re actually up in 2018…which begs the question: was the Obama administration just wasting $100 million a year in taxpayer money for nothing?  Shocking thought, we know.

Meanwhile a fresh barrage of outcries from Democrats, most notably Ms. Nancy Pelosi, came after Trump’s decision to cut federal subsidies, an action which the CBO insisted could result in devastating premium increases of up to 20%.

Of course, if Trump is responsible for 20% of Obamacare’s premium hikes in 2018, then perhaps Nancy Pelosi should explain to the Dixon family in Charlottesville, VA precisely who is responsible for the other portion of the 235% premium hike they just received.

As the Washington Post points out this morning, the Dixons, a family of 4 in Virginia, were shocked earlier this month to find that their Obamacare premiums were going to surge from roughly $900 per month in 2017 to over $3,000 per month in 2018.

Ian Dixon, who left his full-time job in 2016 to pursue an app-development business, did so because the ACA guaranteed that he could still have quality coverage for his young family, he said.

 

But when the 38-year-old Charlottesville husband and father of a 3- and a 1-year-old went to re-enroll this month, his only choice for coverage would cost him more than $3,000 a month for his family of four, which amounted to an increase of more than 300 percent over the $900 he paid the year before. And this is for the second-cheapest option, with a deductible of $9,200.

 

“Helpless is definitely a good word for it,” Dixon said. “Rage is also a good word for it.””

“…perhaps local business owner Shawn Cossette can provide the Obamacare cheerleaders within the media some helpful insights…

Among them was Shawn Marie Cossette, 55, who runs her own event and floral design business in Charlottesville. Last year, she purchased an Anthem silver plan for $550 a month for herself. This year, under Optima, a silver plan would cost her $1,859 monthly.

 

“It’s a huge percentage of my income,” she said. “I really believed in the ACA. I really feel everyone deserves the right to health insurance, but who can afford those prices if you don’t qualify for subsidies?””

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-17/helpless-raging-charlottesville-families-shocked-these-2018-obamacare-premiumsits-ho

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average in 2018, What about deductibles?, Impact on private and company plans?

Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average in 2018, What about deductibles?, Impact on private and company plans?

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”…NBC News October 29, 2013

 

We all know that healthcare premiums have skyrocketed since the advent of Obamacare.

Higher deductibles, under reported, are the dinosaur in the room.

And what about private and company plans?

From the Miami Herald September 26, 2017.

“Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average next year

Health insurers selling Affordable Care Act plans in Florida will raise monthly premiums by nearly 45 percent on average next year, the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation said Tuesday.”

“Florida insurance regulators announced proposed rates for ACA plans in 2018 on Tuesday. Below is a list of insurers and the average rate increase approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation.

On Exchange

  • Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc., 38.1 percent
  • Celtic Insurance Company, 46.1 percent
  • Florida Health Care Plans, Inc., 26.5 percent
  • Health First Commercial Plans, Inc., 39.3 percent
  • Health Options, Inc., 36 percent
  • Molina Healthcare of Florida, 71.2 percent

Off Exchange

  • Avmed, Inc., 38.7 percent
  • Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, 68.9 percent
  • Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, 80 percent”

Read more:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article175550671.html

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

Deny & Delay tactics of disability insurance companies, Avoid paying legitimate insurance claims, No incentives to pay claims quickly, Many people who have been denied will not pursue, Good Morning America gets answers

Deny & Delay tactics of disability insurance companies, Avoid paying legitimate insurance claims, No incentives to pay claims quickly, Many people who have been denied will not pursue, Good Morning America gets answers

“A San Diego woman says she has been kicked off her insurance plan due to Obamacare while battling Stage 4 gallbladder cancer.

“I had great cancer doctors and health insurance,” Edie Littlefield Sundby wrote in a Sunday Wall Street Journal op-ed. “My plan was canceled. Now I worry how long I’ll live.”

“For almost seven years I have fought and survived Stage 4 gallbladder cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 2 percent after diagnosis,” she said.

Her op-ed, which received significant attention from conservatives online, comes as millions of Americans are being dropped from their health insurance plans because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

Sundby will be released from her current plan effective Dec. 31. She said her only options going forward are to either enroll in Obamacare and lose her cancer doctors, or to start her treatment all over again with a new provider at rates that are approximately 40 to 50 percent more expensive.

Worse than just losing her doctors through Obamacare, Sundby said, is that nothing available through the government-run program comes even close to comparing with what she had through her private insurer.”…The Blaze November 4, 2013

“Insurance Companies Practice Deny & Delay Tactics”…The Deutermann Law Group

I started Citizen Wells early in 2008 to write about injustice, things that bothered me.

I had no idea then it would evolve into more of a “political animal” and cover in depth Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as well as a host of others.

I did so out of necessity, love of country, a real concern about what could happen and for my grandkids and descendants.

Little did I know then that a great injustice would happen to me a year later that would drastically affect my life and fortunes.

I had all of the insurance in place.

Health
Life
Dental
Disability

I paid on the private disability policy for 25 years hoping, believing that I would never need to rely on it.

That’s the way it works, right?

No one following this site is aware of what happened to me. For several reasons.

What was happening to this country at the time was more important and because my case was ongoing. It still is.

Over time I will explain my ordeal and how it transpired to the extent I will be legally able to.

But first some background on disability and other insurance companies and how they are treating people.

Anyone watching daytime local tv will notice the high volume of attorney ads offering representation to people who have been wronged by companies, insurance firms and Social Security Disability.

There is obviously a problem.

From the Deuterman Law Group.

“Good Morning America has a story that illustrates how insurance companies use deny and delay tactics to avoid paying legitimate insurance claims.

In this case, a woman with Stage 4 breast cancer tried to collect disability insurance. But Cigna repeatedly denied Susan Kristoff’s claim for short-term disability.

Cigna said she had not proven a disability. Sick and with bills piled up, Kristoff says she considered something drastic.

“If I wasn’t going to be getting better, I didn’t want to sink the rest of my family, so I spent two days in bed crying and thinking about suicide,” she said.

Instead Kristoff hired an attorney. In short order, Cigna reversed course and paid her short-term benefits. Then with her lawyer’s help, she applied for the much more important long-term help.

Several people that GMA interviewed for the story about Kristoff said insurance companies have no incentives to pay claims quickly. In fact, it’s in their best interest to deny and delay claims because many people who have been denied will not pursue things.”

http://deutermanlaw.com/insurance_companies_practice_deny_delay_tactics/

From ABC Good Morning America.

“GMA Gets Answers: Insurer Delays Long-Term Benefit Coverage”

“Kristoff was working at Yellow Book selling advertising 1½ years ago. The job entailed lugging the heavy books to meetings with potential clients. It was a job she loved, until one day a visit to the doctor brought terrible news.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, and it was spreading throughout her body.

“It was awful, and I was extremely tired — limping, sharp pain,” Kristoff said.

Doctors said there was no way she could do her sales job anymore. The cancer had actually eaten holes through her hips. Her company had no other position to offer her, so Kristoff filed a claim for disability insurance.

Like millions of Americans, she paid a small amount each month — $20 in her case — to cover her financially should she be unable to work. One-third of Americans have some form of disability insurance.

For Kristoff, paying Cigna for disability insurance was the easy part. Collecting the insurance was a different story.

“It was a daily, eight-hour job just trying to fulfill the information that Cigna was requesting,” she said. “And it wasn’t once. It would be over and over again.”

But after five months of submitting forms, Cigna denied Kristoff’s claim for short-term disability. Cigna said she had not proven a disability. Sick and with bills piled up, Kristoff says she considered something drastic.

“If I wasn’t going to be getting better, I didn’t want to sink the rest of my family, so I spent two days in bed crying and thinking about suicide,” she said.

Instead Kristoff hired an attorney. In short order, Cigna reversed course and paid her short-term benefits. Then with her lawyer’s help, she applied for the much more important long-term help.

Delay Tactics

Her policy promised to pay her 60 percent of her salary if she was too disabled to work.

This time Cigna raised a different objection, saying because Kristoff had a different form of cancer two years before she was diagnosed with the breast cancer that had metastasized, she did not qualify for disability. Doctors say the two cancers are unrelated, and she had been diagnosed as cancer-free well before she began her new job.

“I’m appalled, I’m disgusted, but I’m not surprised because there are hundreds of Susans, many of which I’m representing currently,” said Kristoff’s attorney, Alicia Paulino Grisham.

Grisham says she’s seen this tactic before and it’s called “slow walking.”

“The insurance companies understand that if they deny and deny claims, then many of the claimants will never pursue their claim,” Grisham said.”

“”Delay tactics are a killer in this situation — it’s, ‘How do I pay for gas? How do I pay for food? Where’s my day-to-day money? I’m caught up for weeks, months, over a year,'” Cuomo said.

Pisano replied, “I think that it’s a balance. The people who framed this law tried to strike a balance, giving every opportunity to make the case, for there to be a fair and thorough review.”

Finally, Some Good News

“GMA” got involved in Kristoff’s case as she was awaiting the results of yet another appeal.

It had been 1½ years since her cancer diagnosis, but shortly after “GMA” called Cigna on her behalf, Kristoff got some good news.

Cigna announced that based on “additional information … her disability benefits would be covered ” after all.”

Read more:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4724106&page=1

You will be shocked when you find out what happened to me.

I am one of the lucky ones. I had assets and support but it still destroyed my finances and I am still in pain.

More to come.

Wells

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

Sean Hannity speaks out on Republican healthcare proposal, “I’m really annoyed about it”, “We don’t want it rammed through.”, Mr. Trump listen to Hannity

Sean Hannity speaks out on Republican healthcare proposal, “I’m really annoyed about it”, “We don’t want it rammed through.”, Mr. Trump listen to Hannity

“You know, I just would have hoped that after eight years of Republicans running on this that they’d have their darn act together, and they’d get a bill that they all agreed on that would fix the problem using all the principles of conservatism.”…Sean Hannity

“millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”…NBC News October 29, 2013

“Healthcare should be affordable and provide a safety net for all citizens. The rest is all fluff.”…Citizen Wells

 

I do not get to listen to Sean Hannity as much as I would like but I do respect his opinion.

I caught a few minutes of his radio show yesterday as he was voicing his concerns about the way the Republicans were rolling out their healthcare proposal.

From CNS News March 9, 2017.

“Hannity ‘Really Annoyed’ About GOP Health Care Bill Rollout: ‘We Don’t Want It Rammed Through’”

“I want to start with this health care debate and the frustration that I feel, and that I have, and why I believe this rollout was not handled properly.

“And look, at the end of the day, do I think it’s all going to probably work out? Are we going to get a repeal and replace? Are we going to get a better health care system? Are we going to undo the mess of Obamacare? None of the promises kept: keep your doctor; keep your plans; save $2,500 a year.

“Yeah, I do believe that we’re going to get there. But in the lead up to all of this – this is one of the most important pieces of legislation.

“And here’s what I don’t understand – and I’ll say this respectfully, but I’m really annoyed about it. Respectfully, the fact that eight years later, that this has been their rallying cry to win the 2010 – win control of the House in 2010 – and then moving further and getting control of the Senate in 2014. And getting the presidency in 2016. And that there’s not a consensus bill. And that—

“I guess in my world, the world that I live in and the way I run my life, knowing – and we had put all these people on beforehand that never saw the bill but were hearing about the bill, and their concerns about the bill. In other words, does it really fully repeal Obamacare? Well, that’s one of the arguments that was used all day yesterday. Or that it has a new entitlement, which is subsidies or – it’s not block granted but, but – tax credits that are given to people so they can afford to buy their own health insurance.

“Now, health care savings accounts are included, money’s not going to Planned Parenthood. This— all the things that I said yesterday, that are good about the bill, that everybody agrees on.

“But here’s my problem: Now here, just imagine, in my own twisted mind, I actually think that Washington can work this way. Maybe all of the people in the Freedom Caucus, the study group, the people now that are angry, these conservative groups like Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works and Heritage Foundation and the Heritage Action group, and then you have Senator Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, and then you have Congressman Louie Gohmert and Congressman Mark Meadows and Dave Brat and Jim Jordan and so many others – they were all saying what they were going to disagree with before the bill ever got released.

“And I remember, and I won’t tell everybody who I talked to, but I told a lot of people, I said, ‘You need to get everybody in a room.’

“And wouldn’t it have been better – instead of having a public fight among Republicans over the repealing and replacing of this bill – if they had gotten together, worked out their differences and maybe the way it was rolled out would be a big monumental ceremony with every Republican in the House and every Republican in the Senate. The president gives a speech. He outlines what’s in the consensus bill of Republicans, how they are going to do it and how it’s going to benefit you, the American people.

“Instead, it, the bill was marked up. Nobody knew what was in it, and when they found out what was in it, it was the very things they were suspicious were going to be in it.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/michael-morris/hannity-really-annoyed-about-gop-health-care-bill-rollout-we-dont-want-it-rammed

 

 

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https://citizenwells.com/

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President Trump executive order to ease burden of Obamacare day 1, January 20, 2017, Essentially allowing the dismantling to begin before Congress moves to repeal it, Minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the act

President Trump executive order to ease burden of Obamacare day 1, January 20, 2017, Essentially allowing the dismantling to begin before Congress moves to repeal it, Minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the act

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”…NBC News October 29, 2013

 

 

 

From the NY Times January 20, 2017.

“Trump Issues Executive Order Scaling Back Parts of Obamacare

In his first executive order, President Trump on Friday directed government agencies to scale back as many aspects of the Affordable Care Act as possible, moving within hours of being sworn in to fulfill his pledge to eviscerate Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

The one-page order, which Mr. Trump signed in a hastily arranged Oval Office ceremony shortly before departing for the inaugural balls, gave no specifics about which aspects of the law it was targeting. But its broad language gave federal agencies wide latitude to change, delay or waive provisions of the law that they deemed overly costly for insurers, drug makers, doctors, patients or states, suggesting that it could have wide-ranging impact, and essentially allowing the dismantling of the law to begin even before Congress moves to repeal it.

The order states what Mr. Trump made clear during his campaign: that it is his administration’s policy to seek the “prompt repeal” of the law, which has come to be known as Obamacare. But he and Republicans on Capitol Hill have not yet devised a replacement, making such action unlikely in the immediate term.

“In the meantime,” the order said, “pending such repeal, it is imperative for the executive branch to ensure that the law is being efficiently implemented, take all actions consistent with law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the act, and prepare to afford the states more flexibility and control to create a more free and open health care market.”

The order has symbolic as well as substantive significance, allowing Mr. Trump to claim he acted immediately to do away with a health care law he has repeatedly called disastrous, even while it remains in place and he navigates the politically perilous process of repealing and replacing it.

Using the phrase “to the maximum extent permitted by law,” the order directs federal agencies to move decisively to implement changes, including granting flexibility that insurers and states had long implored the Obama administration to provide.

It also instructs them to work to create a system that allows the sale of health insurance across state lines, which Republicans have long proposed as the centerpiece of an alternative to the law.

“This action demonstrates that President Trump is committed to fixing the damage caused by Obamacare as soon as possible,” said Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming.

The order does not direct the Department of Health and Human Services to ease any particular aspect of the 2010 law, but it could result in a substantial weakening of one of its central features: the so-called “individual mandate” that requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.”

Read more:

Mr. Trump, please send a directive to the IRS to begin dismantling their staff and procedures for taxing Americans due to Obamacare.

God bless.

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

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NC obamacare rates skyrocket, Aetna slashes ACA exchange participation, Blue Cross Blue Shield raises premiums 34 percent lost more than $400 million, Aetna second quarter pre tax loss of $200 million

NC obamacare rates skyrocket, Aetna slashes ACA exchange participation, Blue Cross Blue Shield raises premiums 34 percent lost more than $400 million, Aetna second quarter pre tax loss of $200 million

“If you like your plan, you can keep it.”…Barack Obama

“millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”…NBC News October 29, 2013

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

Are you in NC and seriously considering voting for Hillary the lying sociopath?

Obama’s impact on NC has been catastrophic.

There is no reason to believe that Hillary’s will be less.

From Insurance Journal August 13, 2016.

“Blue Cross Seeks 34% Rate Hike in North Carolina for ACA Plans”

“North Carolina’s largest health insurer says higher-than-anticipated costs after two years of selling federally subsidized coverage has forced it to seek premium increases even greater than it thought would be necessary two months ago.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said Aug. 6 that it now seeks an average 34.6 percent higher premium for insurance sold under President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul law. The company said in June that it wanted to raise rates by an average of almost 26 percent starting in January, compared with this year’s allowed 13.5 percent increase.

The move comes as dozens of health insurers across the country have proposed increasing premiums for individual policies well beyond 10 percent for 2016. However, many of those insurers face pushback from state and federal regulators, and experts say it’s still too soon to say how things will turn out.

Blue Cross vice president Patrick Getzen says the program has not met expectations that healthier customers would enroll in the second year and that costs would level out after people who avoided doctors for years got treatment.

“Based on our data, neither expectation is proving true. Our claims and expenses are higher than our premiums and we need to take steps now to protect the sustainability of plans for our customer over the long-term,” Getzen said.”

Read more:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/08/13/378488.htm

From WRAL August 16, 2016.

“Insurer Aetna slashes ACA exchange participation, exits NC”

“Aetna has become the latest health insurer to retreat from the Affordable Care Act’s public exchanges by announcing a pullback that will further deplete customer choices in many pockets of the country.

The nation’s third largest insurer says it plans to leave nearly 70 percent of the counties in which it currently sells coverage as it trims exchange participation to four states in 2017, down from 15 this year. The move includes ending all Coventry Health Care of the Carolinas plans offered in North Carolina through HealthCare.gov.2

The insurer’s late Monday announcement comes after UnitedHealth and Humana detailed their own exchange pullbacks for 2017 and after more than a dozen nonprofit insurance co-ops have shut down in the past couple years.

Dwindling exchange participation from insurers is becoming a concern because competition is supposed to help control insurance price increases, and many carriers have already announced plans to seek price hikes of around 10 percent or more for 2017. Some states like Alaska and Oklahoma will be left with only one participant selling individual coverage in 2017.”

“The nation’s largest insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., had expanded rapidly into the public exchanges and sold coverage in 34 states this year, including North Carolina. But it only plans to offer policies in three states next year, Nevada, Virginia and New York.

The moves by Aetna and UnitedHealth leave Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as the only insurer to offer Affordable Care Act plans in North Carolina through the HealthCare.gov marketplace, although Cigna Corp. has said it would offer exchange plans in the Raleigh market in 2017.

Blue Cross has lost more than $400 million on exchange plans in the last two years and has considered dropping out as well, but company officials said in May they likely would continue offering exchange plans in 2017, depending on whether state regulators approve requested price increases.

Aetna has said it has been swamped with higher than expected costs, particularly from pricey specialty drugs. The nation’s third-largest insurer said a second-quarter pre-tax loss of $200 million from its individual insurance coverage helped it decide to limit exposure to the exchanges.”

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/insurer-aetna-slashes-aca-exchange-participation-to-4-states/15933839/

 

More here;

https://citizenwells.com/

 

 

Average 2017 Obamacare premium 24 percent increase, Insurance companies exit more states, Aetna to exit 11 of 15 more than two thirds of Obamacare state exchanges, Hillary lies will hurt you too

Average 2017 Obamacare premium 24 percent increase, Insurance companies exit more states, Aetna to exit 11 of 15 more than two thirds of Obamacare state exchanges, Hillary lies will hurt you too

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year. We will not wait 20 years from now to do it, or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president.”…Barack Obama

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

Obama lied about Obamacare and it is a disaster.

Hillary’s lies will hurt you too.

From Zero Hedge August 15, 2016.

“Obamacare Sticker Shock: Average 2017 Premium Surges 24%”

“The reference, of course, was to the state by state surge in proposed 2017 Obamacare premiums, contrasted with what the government contends is a modest 1.0% inflation rate.

Now, courtesy of a new study by independent analyst Charles Gaba – who has crunched the numbers for insurers participating in the ACA exchanges in all 50 states – we can also calculate what the average Obamacare premium increase across the entire US will be: using proposed and approved rate increase requests, the average Obamacare premium is expected to surge by a whopping 24% this year.

As Politico notes, Cigna and Humana recently revised their rate requests in Tennessee, and the new filings are dramatically higher. Cigna is now asking for a 46% average increase, up from 23%, and Humana is requesting a 44% increase, up from 29%, The Tennessean reported on Friday. Expect these numbers to rise even more as insurance companies exit even more states.

So far, the average approved rate increase is roughly 17% according to weighted averages across just five states, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, Gaba reports. “Combined, all [five states] only make up around 6.3 percent of the total population,” Gaba writes. “The numbers will no doubt jump around quite a bit as additional, larger states are plugged into the mix.”

Here is what Charles Gaba calculated:

[I] noted that since I originally crunched the numbers for some states as far back as April, the situation in some states has likely changed somewhat due to carriers dropping out, joining in or re-submitting their rate request filings.

 

There have been significant changes to the requested rate filings in at least four states: Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland and Tennessee. In all four cases, I’m afraid the statewide weighted average has increased, either due to resubmitted filings, a carrier dropping out or both.

 

As a result of these updates, the national average increase requested now stands at 23.9%, up from the previous average of 23.3%.”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-15/obamacare-sticker-shock-average-2017-premium-surges-24

 

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