As a broker in Phoenix I sell Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona policies. Talk about a fine non-profit organization, having known several of the employees at www.azblue.com for nearly thirty years. This fact in itself speaks volumes about the Arizona Blue Cross organization, that a company can retain many of the same employees for decades on end reflects the stability of their company. There is a common thread between employer and employee, honesty. One of the main reasons years ago that I chose to sell Blue Cross of AZ. products was because of this honesty. There is no trickery when dealing with them, just good ole’ straight-forwardness, integrity, morality, and basic human decency. It is no wonder so many Arizonans, physicians, and hospitals enjoy dealing with them.
And in the past thirty years I have noticed something else, the type of client most attracted to Blue Cross of Arizona policies are those that mirror the health insurance company’s strict adherence to honesty and straight-forwardness. https://higginscompanies.com/about-broker/already-insured-change-brokers/
Considering myself an optimist and realizing that everything works out in the end, I can’t see 2014 being the start of something good unless some very important changes are made between now and then. This is the year that all that apply for coverage with BCBSAZ and all other insurers will be accepted, the start of the, “guaranteed issue,” phase of health care reform. As directed by the federal government, there are financial penalties for not buying the mandatory health insurance policy. The fines start out small, $95 to be exact, and climb to $695 or 2.5% of your income down the road. The figures are higher for families. With many folks qualifying for a subsidy, the hope is that the actual dollar amount spent per year by an individual for Arizona health insurance will approach the fine amount, thereby making it a wash whether one buys the health insurance or not. If it’s going to cost the average person about the same amount whether insured or not, being insured should be preferable.
There’s one small problem though. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the I.R.S. has no authority to enforce these fines. In fact, the I.R.S. is prohibited from applying liens or seizing assets when it comes to health insurance, or the lack thereof. Lawmakers also wrote into the law that the I.R.S. cannot apply criminal penalties, civil penalties, or interest payments on the penalties for non-compliance. Basically there is absolutely no reason for a person to buy Arizona medical insurance, no matter the price, when guaranteed issue is the law of the land. Get sick or hurt, go buy health insurance. Feel better, drop it. Repeat when necessary.
How can a fine organization such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona stay in business to protect it’s existing members when today’s protections against fraud will mean nothing in 2014? Of course many Arizonans will do the right thing as they always have and continue paying their premium and being insured, having no interest in gaming the system. These folks will always do the next right thing indicated, it is who they are, just like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. But it will not take too many individuals to sink this wonderful ship. The health care reform bill has issued many new rules, fine. But rules must abide by the laws of honesty, morality, and integrity. It only takes a few bad apples as they say.
The fines must be increased, and they must be given teeth. If the new rule is that all must play in the game, then the field needs to be leveled.
Michael Higgins
602.405.8769