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May 10, 2012 at 7:54 am #603200
JanSParticipantAs a healthcare provider, I sometimes find it very difficult to get paid by these insurance companies, who sometimes discount my fees by a great amount…and then there’s this… amazing…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017460805_surplus09m.html
May 10, 2012 at 1:53 pm #757887
JoBParticipantyes, this makes me angry
May 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm #757888
pattileaParticipantYes, this makes me mad too!
I did some contracting work for the state of WA (DSHS) and I had to take a fee reduction also.
May 10, 2012 at 2:15 pm #757889
pattileaParticipantYes, this makes me mad too!
I did some contracting work for the state of WA (DSHS) and I had to take a fee reduction also.
May 10, 2012 at 2:21 pm #757890
KatherineLParticipantMedical insurance companies are almost the only people who still send me mail printed on one side only. Then they claim they’re short of money, have to raise fees. I wonder what other extravagances we’d find if anyone were able to look closely at their business practices?
May 10, 2012 at 6:11 pm #757891
miwsParticipantMakes me angry too.
And, I highly doubt the insurance companies are going to give the surplus back to policyholders, should their fears not come to fruition.
Mike
May 10, 2012 at 6:20 pm #757892
JanSParticipantKatherineL…I have one insurance company that sends about 4 pages along with their checks..one page is always blank except for one line of something that is of no importance to me…I use it as scratch paper..
May 10, 2012 at 8:22 pm #757893
KatherineLParticipantI use mine in my printer. But even so…..
May 10, 2012 at 8:50 pm #757894
kootchmanMemberYea… how about the state legislation looking at the endowment funds of US and WSU before allowing another double digit tuition increase? Like if you are sitting on 3 billion UW…. both are supposedly non profits…
May 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #757895
JanSParticipantthis is about health insurance…Regence (I am NOT a Regence provider), Premera , Group Health ( I AM a provider for those two)…this is not about the UW, and how much money they have…that’s another thread…hey, here’s an idea…why don’t you start it, Kootchman…and go hang out there, if you have nothing of importance to say here..
May 10, 2012 at 11:12 pm #757896
kootchmanMemberNo Jan the Censor it was… Does this make you angry? What important thing did you have to say? It’s about non-profits who hoard cash while raising rates to customers… seems to fit for me. And since both are controlled by state regulators.. it seems to be a trend. Wow… an idea expanded. Hey heres’ an idea… go…
May 10, 2012 at 11:26 pm #757897
miwsParticipantMay 11, 2012 at 12:13 am #757898
BostonmanMemberThey do need to keep cash on hand to pay claims, just because its sitting on the balance sheet of the company doesn’t mean its a surplus. Without seeing the internal company documents on expected claims and the actuarial tables they are using all we see is the huge cash balance.
Its not the whole story. I was an accounting controller at Group Health for a couple of years and the company is constantly upgrading its equipment and buildings. For all you know they could be preparing to open another facility.
May 11, 2012 at 9:11 pm #757899
m3bodyworksMemberthe Insurance commissioner’s website said that this is above the “Cash on Hand” to cover claims and possible claims. This is actual Surplus they are sitting on. I don’t think they even pay taxes on it either.
I don’t know all the details but I have been watching the IC website.
Michael
May 11, 2012 at 9:40 pm #757900
BostonmanMemberPerhaps but he doesn’t mention how he knows this. Did he audit their liabilities and projected future liabilities, trend rates, average age of insured. There are so many variables.
Him just coming out and making the statement without representing how he can make the claim is nothing more than a government administrator sitting around pretending to know things they don’t. Have an independent panel audit done and then we have something to base an opinion on.
May 11, 2012 at 9:56 pm #757901
waterworldParticipantKeep in mind that the insurance commissioner tried, and failed, to get legislation passed last session that would have allowed him to factor in what he calls “surplus” when considering the companies’ requests for rate increases. Under state law currently, insurance companies are required to maintain certain minimum reserves, but there is no upper limit.
Also, I think the commissioner is interpreting “reserves” way too narrowly, even under current law. “Reserves” are not limited to the amount needed to pay anticipated claims; reserves can include other amounts as well. Whether the funds are “surplus” is in the eye of the beholder.
Not that I necessarily like the idea of health insurers sitting on piles of cash while they reduce reimbursement rates and increase premiums. I just wouldn’t assume that the commissioner knows better than anyone else what the ideal reserve amount should be.
May 12, 2012 at 1:37 pm #757902
kootchmanMemberAhhh therein lies a hugh assumption waterworld. “the commissioner knows better than anyone else”…. just like the state knows better than anyone else how to bargain for pay and benefits… and be off 5 billion… based on their assumptions and projections of revenues? Show me one state budget projection that even comes close to reality. Ferry system? 520 Revenue projections? .. anything.
May 12, 2012 at 2:46 pm #757903
JoBParticipantkootch..
today is my birthday
could you give me the gift of one positive comment
besides happy birthday?
i can only hope
and in the meantime i am going to turn WSB land off
and live entirely in the real world today
so my heart won’t break
if you can’t manage .. i won’t know till late in the day or tomorrow.
my apologies to JanS and all for straying off topic today…
but my post had every bit as much relevance to the topic
as kootch’s ;->
May 12, 2012 at 4:07 pm #757904
waynsterParticipantHAPPY 39th BDAY Job hide out from here injoy the sun search for the tan line today :0)……
May 12, 2012 at 4:13 pm #757905
waynsterParticipantkootch if you have better ideas how come you don’t run for a state office…..CEO’s will always make the big bucks on the backs of others and never pass it on down as for non-profits like WDS maybe its time to look at that tax exempt status and others like them….
May 12, 2012 at 10:06 pm #757906
kootchmanMemberI like my chosen career just fine. Most of us don’t really think of elected office as a “step up” in the world.
May 13, 2012 at 1:59 pm #757907
JoBParticipantMay 13, 2012 at 2:02 pm #757908
JoBParticipantthe thing about all those insurance company reserves
that someone said may be excess because “they” are thinking of new facilities
in a way.. that’s public money they are sitting on
with absolutely no public oversight or control
and “they” certainly don’t need to sit on all that excess so badly that they “need” to delay legitimate payments to their vendors…
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