Cuomo, Fighting for Docs

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has made fighting health insurance companies his forte. Check out the article HERE. A third industry giant Wellpoint, has voluntarily come forward to reform their payment practices. This followed Aetna and Cigna; both companies paid fines and hired third parties to rebuild their out-of-network payment database. Cuomo has now established for himself a legacy of fighting insurers' outdated and unethical payment schemes as well as other abuses in the health care industry.

It is about time that someone start policing these companies. For years health care spending in this country has skyrocketed, physician pay has remained fairly stagnant, and the financial burden of health care on the average person has increased dramatically (even serving as a leading reason for bankruptcy.) Yet somehow, the insurers are sucking up enormous profits. This industry has been given a free ride for a long time. Especially with the attempt at medicare privatization, when the federal government wasted tax dollars in trying to alleviate the medicare beauracracy. It has been revealed in various reports that these privatization plans lead to higher patient cost burden. That is not, I assume, what was intended.

I am glad to see that Cuomo has begun fighting insurers. Profiting off our health care system is a privelege that they have, and that privelege must be retained through responsible behavior in the marketplace.

Thank You Mr. Attorney General.