Thursday, July 23, 2009

You're going to feel some pressure


Jeezy creezy, readers, we suck, and allow me to explain why.

If the next presidential election were to be held right now, Obama would be neck and neck with Mittens and Alaska Spice.

I know, it’s hardly surprising. And I suppose I should be glad that the Republican 2012 field so far consists of the dude who couldn’t out-charisma Gramps McCain in the last primary, and the dumbest goddamn woman to ever hold a political office higher than Chicago Alderwoman or Congresswoman for California’s 45th District.

But I can’t be glad. Because Americans are so proud of their stupidity that Romney and Palin actually qualify as viable candidates to us. I mean, we elected a “CEO President” who had never been a successful CEO. We thought renaming fried potatoes would make people respect and fear us. And some of us, probably a lot more of us than we would like to think, believe that Obama faked his US birth certificate, and that he is therefore not legitimately our chief executive. I’m not sure how his birth in Honolulu could be considered such an unlikely event that it requires its own conspiracy theory, but let’s just say that the so-called “birthers” bring new meaning to the phrase “sore loser.”

Oh, and also “dumbass.”

Oh, and just for the record, dumbasses, you know who really wasn’t born in the USA? The other one.

Americans are so stupid that it seems as likely as not that we will demand that our elected representatives kill the only chance we’re going to get in the foreseeable future to end the vicious, deadly stranglehold that insurance companies have on our health care system. We’re going to listen to all those Republican and “centrist” Democrats whose voting hands are firmly planted in the pockets of industry lobbyists, and let them talk us out of a decent health care alternative and back into a system that is not only more expensive than a Federal option, but also allows people whose only motive is profit to hoodwink us out of the healthcare we already paid for. Personally, my insurance company just declined to cover a diagnostic procedure that my doctor wanted me to have. And why? They couldn’t give me a reason. Just because. Just because they can.

But hey, if you don’t have your own healthcare insurance horror stories, you can always listen to other people’s. You could listen, for instance, to this woman, who was kicked off her policy the weekend before her double mastectomy. Blue Cross claimed that she had not disclosed to them a previous condition: acne.

I shit you not.

Or you could listen to this dude, a former executive for Cigna, who also testified before Congress after experiencing a swift kick to the conscience about the policies his industry was engaging in. He admits freely that the healthcare insurance industry is primarily concerned with the value of its stock, and they keep the value high by unfairly denying claims and coverage, betting that the vast majority of people will be powerless to fight against them

And they’re exactly right about that.

But go ahead and whine about socialism and the far reach of the Federal government, ya big fucking dumbasses. You probably hate your insurance carrier, but let me tell you, your insurance carrier loves you. They love you, because they can take your money until you start to cost them money, and then they can drop you like a hot tumor, buddy, and there will be not one damn thing you can do about it. They love you because you and your ignorant Republican talking points make this massive fraud they are perpetrating possible. Goddamn but they do love you. They love you to death.

20 comments:

Marshall Park Slope said...

When Webster's releases their next edition, there will be a new word added, smart-as-hell, and next to it will be Vikki's picture.

Let me add this: I pay $312 a month (the smallest premium offered from Anthem) for my wife and me to have heath insurance thru my company.$3744 a year. But you know what that gets us? That gets us a $6000 deductible before they will cover the first goddamn penny of any illness. SO we could break an arm, get a few stitches and spend a few lovely nights in the hospital all for the low low cost of $9744 OUT OF POCKET.

But we are the lucky ones that can rest easy having insurance if anything bad happens... Right?

Some Guy said...

Another incredibly written post. I completely agree.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I got the last laugh on my last insurer. My company kicked me off the plan because my sales had dipped. Then when I had my heart attack since my sales had dipped so had my income and so I qualified for my states version of Medicaid. So I ended up not having to pay a penny for my quadruple bypass. If I still had had my old company's insurance I would have had to pay a shitload and a half.

dguzman said...

Bravo, Vikkitik. And yes, they deny claims because.they.can. My insurance at my last job declined to cover a procedure, even though I was still with them during and for a couple months after the procedure, because I was no longer with them when the bills came. I spent four months arguing with insurance phone reps, their supervisors, my old HR dept, etc.--and ended up having to pay for the whole thing myself anyway.

They just keep saying "NO" until you crack, and you pay the bills because you just can't make yet another goddamned phone call and argue the same goddamned issues one more time. That's their tactic. They'll always be there, and they have hundreds of people to take your phone call, so they never get tired, while your side has only YOU, telling the whole story AGAIN from the beginning.

"What's the hurry?" to get this new healthcare plan passed? Indeed.

Jaliya said...

I think that stupidity is chosen ... and so, certainly, is the contempt shown to humans by other humans who are yoked to the monetary gains they get from the "healthcare" and "insurance" industries ... I'd love to read / hear the stories of people who have worked in these fields and have been screwed by them ... There are probably a lot.

It's an interesting experience being a Canadian citizen and observing the fiasco in the US over healthcare and insurance. Up here, if I've got my political radar running (semi-) accurately, our federal government, that sneaky crew, is working to dismantle our once-great universal healthcare system. If there's a way for certain overlords to pocket a profit, they'll stop at nothing to do it. I can't help but think that behaving in a sociopathic manner towards your fellow humans (i.e., not giving even half a damn about the welfare of others) is fast becoming the norm.

Check out the book *A General Theory of Love*, written by Thomas Lewis, MD, and two other physicians. The chapter on our culture's horribly misguided "loyalty" to corporate "ethics" is chilling to read.

Doc said...

I have always considered the insurance business to be the biggest scam out there, from top to bottom. These rat bastards are lining up to sell you a worthless piece of paper that you keep making payments on forever (plus deductables and co-pays) until you need to cash in on it and suddenly whatever it is you need the money for is "an act of God" and they don't cover those.

What a freakin' scam!
Doc

Coaster Punchman said...

God damnit, you depress me! I'm going out for some freedom fries!

CP

ps: I second what Some Guy just said...

Red said...

E.J. Dionne wrote a column in the _Washington Post_ yesterday entitled, "Why Healthcare Will Pass." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072202545.html

I hope to heaven he's right.

As for Caribou Barbie, there is hope that the country isn't quite as dumb as they sometimes seem. From today's _Post_, "a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of her, and there is broad public doubt about her leadership skills and understanding of complex issues, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."

vikkitikkitavi said...

@Red - Yes, I read that in WaPo, although I also read a criticism of that conclusion, saying that in effect her numbers have remained the same over the last year.

jadedj said...

Yet another bullshit insurance story. I was having pain in my forearm, from the elbow to the wrist. My primary care doctor felt that I needed to see a Rheumatologist, because this symptom COULD be arthritis. It was two months before I could get in to see the specialist. When I did, after a series of tests, she indeed confirmed that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, and prescribed a series of drugs to relieve the pain. My insurance company (FUCKING CIGNA...which I saw mentioned above) turned down the specialist's visit and xray fees. The reason? Pre-existing condition because my primary THOUGHT that it was POSSIBLE that the symptoms indicated arthritis. We are no longer with Cigna. At that time we were paying almost $500 per month for a family of four. In other words, when I needed the goddamn thing, it wasn't there, even though we were shelling out approximately $6,000 per year to the bastards.

There is no way I will ever be convinced that the insurance industry in this country is not controlled by the mafia. And our national legislators are on the fucking take.

SFNative said...

I want YOU for President.

JFinn said...

When I went into early labor ( subsequently losing my baby and almost dying myself)... my doctor told me (on the phone) to go right the the maternity ward. Once there, they would have nothing to do with me until I officially checked in and proved that I had insurance. They told me to go back downstairs and sign in. This is while I was having contractions and a 104 temperature. They finally let Pibb go for me and (VERY) reluctantly gave me a room to sit down in but wouldn't help me out or even take my temperature until he waited in a line for about 25 minutes and came back with the check-in form. I still wonder if my baby could have been saved if I didn't have to prove I had insurance. I realize my bitch is more about hospitals (I hate hospitals more than any other thing in this world), but I still think it's still somewhat apropos.

JFinn said...

Also? My losing the baby cost me about $10K AFTER insurance. I obviously wasn't in any kind of state of mind to contest anything & luckily Pibb's mom helped us out financially.

vikkitikkitavi said...

@TH - That's a terrible thing, to wonder what might have been if we actually had this "world's best healthcare system" that everyone keeps saying we do.

Anonymous said...

Gee! I thought the dumbest Broad to hold Office was someone like Babs Boxer, DiFi, Geraldine, Nasty Pelosi, or even Barney Frank.

SFNative said...

No, jackass. It's the bimbo from up North.

Try and follow along.

vikkitikkitavi said...

@Anon: Oh, I get it. You're imitating a stupid person as a commentary on Palin's supporters. And that's why you're engaging in random capitalization and callouts of the right's usual liberal suspects, even though none of them, unlike Palin, are known for being willfully ignorant. Brilliant. And wow, referring to Barney Frank as a "woman," because he's a homosexual - that is the comedic cherry on top of the satirical sundae, dude. You're right, only a brain-dead wingnut, i.e., Palin supporter, could think of something as hateful, pointless, and all-out stupifyingly obtuse as that.

That's quite a talent you have, imitating the thick-witted, although I'm not sure there's much call for it, given that the real thing are so easily called upon and so abundant on the airwaves and anonymously in the comments sections of blogs that, unlike them, actually favor the progression of the human species. But, you know, good job. LOL and all that.

deadspot said...

If Congress is so sure that government-provided universal health care is a bad idea, perhaps they should give theirs up.

GETkristiLOVE said...

I just got off the phone with my health care insurance company - they cover putting one pin in my knee, not three which is what I need, if the procedure is done in a surgical center. If the procedure is done in a hospital, then they cover all three pins but the bill is ten times bigger because it's done in a hospital. So I can either pay 10% of a much bigger bill, or pay $5000 for two pins they won't cover, plus the 10% of a much smaller bill. For me, the first option will be cheaper so now it's the insurance company that will have to pay the hefty hospital bill. It's completely stupid.

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