Comments on: ‘Imagine’ by Andrew Dreyfus

By: What Does Quality Really Mean? | CommonHealth

What Does Quality Really Mean? | CommonHealth — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:03:10 +0000

[...] BCBSMA, we are working with physicians in our alternative quality contract to provide detailed, specific analyses of our claims data that will help these caregivers ask [...]

By: bilgi yarismasi

bilgi yarismasi — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:42:09 +0000

very great site.

By: Jack Lohman

Jack Lohman — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:27:23 +0000

What matters is who “owns” this so-called non-profit? The community or a for-profit BCBS? If the latter, the non-profit arm can stay non profitable by “paying to” the for-profit over generous “management fees” which can then be divvied up amongst the executives. So the management fees come from patient premiums and reward the executives and politicians. Don’t forget that they get a piece of the action. THAT is our problem.

By: Susan Farnsworth

Susan Farnsworth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:21:38 +0000

“Imagine” this: That Blue Cross and Blue Shield cares more about their market share and and their profit margins than they care about meaningful health reform. Of course the Massachusetts BCBS has to call their significant profits “surplus” because they enjoy the legal status of being a taxpayer subsidized not-for-profit public charity. “Imagine” that.

Investigative reporting is long overdue into the business model of BCBS MA’s supposed “not-for-profit” status. BCBS MA paid its past outgoing CEO William VanFaasen a $20Mil golden parachute a few years back as a reward for sheparding through the “landmark” individual mandate insurance law in the state.

The individual mandate insurance law that forces people to purchase expensive private insurance under threat of tax fines is now being used as a model for national reform. The National BCBS Federation is aggressively supporting the individual mandate feature. “Imagine” that.

BCBS MA pays its current CEO Cleve Killingsworth over $3Mil a year. To head up a not-for-profit public charity that is heavily subsidized by Massachusetts taxpayers. BCBS Executive VP Andrew Dreyfus is paid a very handsome sum for his “health care” work, too, we can all be assured. Andrew Dreyfus is also on the national board of directors of BCBS. The national BCBS entity includes for-profits and not-for-profits (source: http://resources.bnet.com/topic/blue+cross+blue+shield.html then click under “Executive Profiles” where you’ll see BCBS MA CEO Cleve Killingsworth listed, too).

“Imagine” that.