Walker Opposes Insurance Readability? Really? No kidding? Seriously? Come on…?

In what would be a no brainer win for customer service, a friendly readable health insurance policy, the insurance lobby won support from the “open for big business” governor’s commissioner, for a more confusing, ambiguous set of policy rules.  

It’s an well-known ploy by insurers to mislead consumers with pages of legalese even an agent can’t explain. I know, I’ve used agents in the past who have warned me of the actual anti-consumer intent of indecipherable small print mumbo jumbo.

WSJ: Wisconsin's new insurance commissioner wants to end a rule that required health insurers to make their policies more understandable. Commissioner Ted Nickel adopted an "emergency rule" in February.

Yes, it was an insurance industry “emergency.” But really, who would not want policies to be understandable? My head is hurting. 

Removing the measures will "ease financial constraints for the insurance industry," Nickel's office wrote … (where a) “rewrite(ing) language becomes a pretty difficult undertaking." Eileen Mallow, assistant deputy insurance commissioner, said "Difficult equals expensive. They do pass that cost along to their policy holders."

Wow, they’re doing it for us! And that means we get to save…an undeterminable amount of money and…“lower premiums?” Absolute BS.

Legalese filled contracts with escape clauses and loopholes.

This, what would essentially be a one time rewrite, was described as “difficult,” as opposed to writing purposely “difficult” language that would include loopholes you could drive a Mack truck through.

No matter how strongly you believe in reducing the size of government, your corporate buddies in the fight to privatize everything are playing you for a willing sucker, a dupe who’ll cede the public’s collective power to their singular bottom line goals.

    

James Sykes, a member of the an advisory group appointed by former commissioner Sean Dilweg, said;

"The office of the commissioner has a responsibility to make sure citizens are protected and enhanced in their efforts to be smart consumers." Sykes, former chairman of the Wisconsin Board on Aging said, "Any efforts to detract from that are regrettable."

Not regrettable, but criminal.