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Chelee · 10-21-2010, 03:11 PM

Private Health Insurers Step Up Their Efforts To Ration Health Care

Oct. 20 2010 - 3:17 pm | 561 views | 3 recommendations | 10 comments
By RICK UNGAR
With all the worry about the federal government heading down a path towards rationing health care in the United States, many Americans choose to ignore that it is not government who is rationing care – but rather the private health insurance companies who are deciding what we may or may not have when we get sick.
If you doubted it before, take a good, hard look at where we are heading.
The New York Times reports that two of the largest health insurers in the nation, United Healthcare and Aetna, are tightening their oversight over the treatment of cancer by offering physicians extra money to avoid newer, less proven treatments. Additionally, a number of regional insurers in states including California, Washington and Pennsylvania, are negotiating to clamp down on what oncologists can offer their patients.

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2010/10/20/private-health-insurers-step-up-their-efforts-to-ration-health-care/

Chelee

10-21-2010, 03:11 PM	#1
Chelee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern, CA Posts: 2,511	Private Insurers, efforts to Ration Health Care Private Health Insurers Step Up Their Efforts To Ration Health Care Oct. 20 2010 - 3:17 pm \| 561 views \| 3 recommendations \| 10 comments By RICK UNGAR With all the worry about the federal government heading down a path towards rationing health care in the United States, many Americans choose to ignore that it is not government who is rationing care – but rather the private health insurance companies who are deciding what we may or may not have when we get sick. If you doubted it before, take a good, hard look at where we are heading. The New York Times reports that two of the largest health insurers in the nation, United Healthcare and Aetna, are tightening their oversight over the treatment of cancer by offering physicians extra money to avoid newer, less proven treatments. Additionally, a number of regional insurers in states including California, Washington and Pennsylvania, are negotiating to clamp down on what oncologists can offer their patients. http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2010/10/20/private-health-insurers-step-up-their-efforts-to-ration-health-care/ Chelee __________________ DX: 12-20-05 - Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu, 3+++,Er & Pr weakly positive, 5 of 16 pos nodes. Rt. MRM on 1-3-06 -- No Rads due to compromised lungs. Chemo started 2-7-06 -- TCH - - Finished 6-12-06 Finished yr of wkly herceptin 3-19-07 3-15-07 Lt side prophylactic simple mastectomy. -- Ooph 4-05-07 9-21-09 PET/CT "Recurrence" to Rt. axllia, Rt. femur, ilium. Possible Sacrum & liver? Now stage IV. 9-28-09 Loading dose of Herceptin & started Zometa 9-29-09 Power Port Placement 10-24-09 Mass 6.4 x 4.7 cm on Rt. femur head. 11-19-09 RT. Femur surgery - Rod placed 12-7-09 Navelbine added to Herceptin/Zometa. 3-23-10 Ten days of rads to RT femur. Completed. 4-05-10 Quit Navelbine--Herceptin/Zometa alone. 5-4-10 Appt. with Dr. Slamon to see what is next? Waiting on FISH results from femur biopsy. Results to FISH was unsuccessful--this happens less then 2% of the time. 7-7-10 Recurrence to RT axilla again. Back to UCLA for options.