Scumbag insurance corporations scamming their policy holders

Building a bit on the last post, TPM investigates and finds insurance companies lying about Obamacare to their policy holders.

Donna received the letter canceling her insurance plan on Sept. 16. Her insurance company, LifeWise of Washington, told her that they'd identified a new plan for her. If she did nothing, she'd be covered.

Of course she would be paying $300 a month more for the pleasure of staying with a plan she "liked." But Donna is no fool. She shopped around on the Obamacare exchanges.

If Donna had done nothing, she would have ended up spending about $1,000 more a month for insurance than she will now that she went to the marketplace, picked the best plan for her family and accessed tax credits at the heart of the health care reform law.

"The info that we were sent by LifeWise was totally bogus. Why the heck did they try to screw us?" Donna said. "People who are afraid of the ACA should be much more afraid of the insurance companies who will exploit their fear and end up overcharging them."

Donna is not alone.

It's happening in many states. More than a few insurers are doing it, but some are more blatantly swindling consumers than others.

The insurance companies argue that it's simply capitalism at work. But regulators don't see it that way. By warning customers that their health insurance plans are being canceled as a result of Obamacare and urging them to secure new insurance plans before the Obamacare launched on Oct. 1, these insurers put their customers at risk of enrolling in plans that were not as good or as affordable as what they could buy on the marketplaces.

This was always the fatal flaw in Obamacare. Its success depended on the greedy insurance mega-corporations to be honest in their dealings. We knew that was never going to happen. But at least it's more difficult for them to get away with it now. So there's that. Still, caveat emptor.

But what has it got in its pocketses, eh?

You all know how much I love a good conspiracy theory and Romney's cheat sheet is a great one. The campaign swears it was a handkerchief Mitt threw on the podium at the first debate. But it surely is a little weird that it bounced that hard when it hit the wood. And what did Romney try to put in his breast pocket after the debate was over? It does seem odd that it wouldn't fit.

Of course, it's not something that can ever be proven. Much like the mysterious lump in George W's jacket back in 04, we'll never know for sure. But it's certainly not beyond the pale to believe Romney is capable of cheating. It's practically mandatory for Republicans. It's probably in their rule book.

So credit where it's due for the meticulous breakdown of the video. They made a damn good case for Romney slipping in a cheat sheet at this debate. Besides, how the hell else would he be able to remember all those gazillions of zingers everyone said he was practicing for all those weeks?