Re: Bonuses Were Paid to Cut Doctor Visits

[Guest guest]

This is crappy, but are you suprised? me either

Judy indy

[Guest guest]

Hi a,

I read this too, sometime over the weekend while surfing. Utterly amazing,

and dispicable, isn't it??

My employer's employee insurance plan has never had an HMO component for

which I am devoutly grateful, having read so many really awful things that

have happened to people enrolled in many of them.

Suzanne

[ ] Bonuses Were Paid to Cut Doctor Visits

> May 19, 2002

>

> Bonuses Were Paid to Cut Doctor Visits

>

> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

>

>

> AN FRANCISCO, May 18 (AP) — Telephone

> clerks at California's largest health

> maintenance organization received bonuses

> for keeping calls with patients brief and

> limiting the number of doctor visits they

> schedule.

>

> The company, Kaiser Permanente, offered

> the bonuses at three Northern California

> call centers from January 2000 to December

> 2001, a company spokesman, Jim ,

> said on Friday.

>

> " At the end of the year they looked at,

> `Were we doing a better job for members

> than when we started it?' The thought was

> no, " Mr. said. " The whole purpose

> of this was designed to help serve members

> better. "

>

> The California Nurses Association, the

> union representing Kaiser's registered

> nurses, called the program deceitful and

> harmful.

>

> Cash bonuses were paid to those who made

> appointments for fewer than 35 percent of

> callers and spent less than an average of

> three minutes, 45 seconds on the phone

> with each patient.

>

> State regulators recently opened an

> investigation into the bonus program, said

> Fisher, deputy director of the

> state Department of Managed Health Care.

[Guest guest]

Yes it is despicable. I'm glad they got caught and hope that this article

lands on

every insurance company's desk and they think twice before trying something

so LOW!

a

Re: [ ] Bonuses Were Paid to Cut Doctor Visits

> Hi a,

>

> I read this too, sometime over the weekend while surfing. Utterly

amazing,

> and dispicable, isn't it??

>

> My employer's employee insurance plan has never had an HMO component for

> which I am devoutly grateful, having read so many really awful things that

> have happened to people enrolled in many of them.

>

> Suzanne