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Like Putting Ponze in Charge of My Retirement Savings – a Rant
I live and work in Florida now. For the first time in my adult life, I live in a state where there’s a real possibility that my vote in the upcoming presidential election will make a difference. As a result, when I sit down to watch TV in the evening, I see a constant barrage of the most objectionable commercials. This candidate bashing that candidate. “Facts” that aren’t facts. Claims that have been disproved over and over again. Detestable. You may be surprised to know that THOSE commercials aren’t the ones that upset me the most! In fact, I no longer even hear or see them. I sort of gloss-over, or just get up and do something else. <Beginning of Rant> I’ve noticed, however, that during the past week, a new sort of horror has crept into TV commercial-dom. That is – health insurance plan commercials, heralding the arrival of open enrollment, and featuring all new ways to dupe the public! THOSE commercials are the ones that upset me even more. Why? Because they feature smiling faces, they make claims that they have “thousands of doctors” in their network (they all do, or they wouldn’t be in business), or that people with their insurance can get free preventive care (we all can – it was mandated by passage of the ACA/Obamacare), or that their plans are low-cost (no they aren’t – none of those plans are low-cost), etc. But the part that really fries me – and the impetus for today’s rant – is one insurer’s claim that their customers can enjoy free consultations with the insurer’s “care managers“… As if that is some benefit to them! Seriously? Think about this: I am newly diagnosed, I am scared, I am desperate…. and I’m going to call my “care manager” at my insurance company to help me? Isn’t that like putting Ponze in charge of my retirement account? Or putting my dog in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey? The entire focus of health insurance companies (or any other sort of insurer) is to spend not one more penny than it needs…