A GI Doc Who Truly Cares About His Patients

[tex]

Hi All,

Dr. Greer is a gastroenterologist in Miami Florida, who won the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom award, for his lifetime of dedication to treating patients who are uninsured, and who cannot afford to pay.

I love this statement:

"I do get outraged," he says. "Is it acceptable when an insurance company refuses someone for a pre-existing condition? Where in hell is that acceptable? Hell is going to be filled with insurance people. I hope they enjoy all the money they're making."

http://www.newsday.com/business/miami-d ... -1.1505177

Tex

[JLH]

Nice story. I'm glad he got a McArthur grant since he was so deserving.

[ant]

Tex, thanks for posting.

If I am not mistaken B.U.P.A. (originally The British United Provident Association) and many other Health Insurance Companies used to be "Friendly Societies". In other words not-for-profit organizations. For some reason they were encouraged to change their structures to become companies. As a result their basic incentive changed from looking after their "members" to making a profit from their "clients".

All the best, Ant

[tex]

Ant,

Now that you mention it, I think the same thing happened over here. In fact, I suspect all types of insurance started that way. When this country was being "settled", a lot of immigrants got together and started their own ethnic "mutual protective insurance associations". First they offered fire insurance policies, and then they added policies for other risks. Back then, insurance was affordable. Somewhere along the way, they realized that there was a lot of money to be made, and like government, they just continue to get bigger and bigger, and charge, (tax), more and more, to feed their addiction to money and power.



Tex