[Fwd: NYTimes.com: A Rip-Off by Health Insurers?]

[Guest guest]

Hey, check this out (link below). NYTimes reports that the NY State attorney

general, Cuomo, is investigating the health insurers method of defining

" usual and customary " prices for out of network charges. Seems he's taken

up the AMA lawsuits about this.Now, get this, the company that makes the

estimates of " usual and customary " , Ingenix, is owned by ... drum roll

please ... United Health Care!! So I just checked my dictionary, and I was

pleasantly surprised when I looked up the meaning of " conflict of

interest " because it said ... " UHC owns Ingenix " !! I'm

going to write to Cuomo and see if Webster's meanings are admissable to

court!!Imagine that, insurers might be ripping off the doctors and

patients! Who'd have thought that?! (note tongue firmly planted in cheek)Tim---------------------------- NYTimes.com: A Rip-Off by Health

Insurers?From: Date: Mon, February 18, 2008 7:05 amTo: tmalia@...------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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OPINION | February 18,

2008Editorial: A Rip-Off by Health Insurers?An investigation into the health

industry’s process for calculating “reasonable

and customary” rates raises the possibility that they

may be rigged to shortchange beneficiaries.

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