"1984", Newspeak and Insurance Language
Orwell's "1984" developed the concept of Newspeak, which were words "deliberately constructed....to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them." I
only reference this to satisfy those always looking for the latest
conspiracy theory and primarily because it is very similar to the
arguments and phrases used by those in the Insurance industry. The
actual date of the change in the way we speak of medical insurance was
1973 when the Health Maintenance Organization Act was signed. As with
all new changes, the HMO act had some negative consequences which I
will share in a later post.
I want to meet the insurance person who first thought of redefining Reasonable and Customary (R&C) to mean neither, and made up the word, "Pre-approval," but he/she probably received a big bonus for those ideas and is now in politics explaining (either for, or against) the latest bail-out package to the masses.
Pre-approval means that you are not quite approved; you are only in the "pre" stage of approval. The actual approval may, or may not be coming. But, rest assured, you will find out after you are billed by your medical provider. To be fair, some of my claims have actually been fully paid, but unless you have a bone showing or something oozing (that is not a pre-existing condition) you and your doctor are likely to be inundated with requests for paperwork explaining any charges. This strategy is two-fold; it will allow some of the procedures to be denied payment and also will slowly "impose the desirable mental attitude upon" us. Very soon, it will all become clear...it just takes a new way of reprogramming your thinking and that is something that is totally covered by your Big Brother, the Insurance Company.
TVP
Email The Virtual Patient
I want to meet the insurance person who first thought of redefining Reasonable and Customary (R&C) to mean neither, and made up the word, "Pre-approval," but he/she probably received a big bonus for those ideas and is now in politics explaining (either for, or against) the latest bail-out package to the masses.
Pre-approval means that you are not quite approved; you are only in the "pre" stage of approval. The actual approval may, or may not be coming. But, rest assured, you will find out after you are billed by your medical provider. To be fair, some of my claims have actually been fully paid, but unless you have a bone showing or something oozing (that is not a pre-existing condition) you and your doctor are likely to be inundated with requests for paperwork explaining any charges. This strategy is two-fold; it will allow some of the procedures to be denied payment and also will slowly "impose the desirable mental attitude upon" us. Very soon, it will all become clear...it just takes a new way of reprogramming your thinking and that is something that is totally covered by your Big Brother, the Insurance Company.
TVP
Email The Virtual Patient
Posted by The Virtual Patient at 3/2/2009 10:54 PM 
Categories: Irony, Reasonable and Customary, Insurance, Private Policies, Costs, General, Pre-approval
Tags: universal health reasonable and customary cost medical Private Policies healthcare coverage irony Insurance preapproval
Categories: Irony, Reasonable and Customary, Insurance, Private Policies, Costs, General, Pre-approval
Tags: universal health reasonable and customary cost medical Private Policies healthcare coverage irony Insurance preapproval
Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating loss. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured is the person or entity buying the insurance. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.
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Health insurance is insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is sometimes used more broadly to include insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. It may be provided through a government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies. It may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. In each case, the covered groups or individuals pay premiums or taxes to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses. Similar benefits paying for medical expenses may also be provided through social welfare programs funded by the government.
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The specific uses of the terms "insurance" and "assurance" are sometimes confused. In general, in these jurisdictions "insurance" refers to providing cover for an event that might happen (fire, theft, flood, etc.), while "assurance" is the provision of cover for an event that is certain to happen.
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Insurance Benefits encompass the facilities associated with buying of insurances. Insurance is mainly a instrument used by consumers for hedging the future contingent risks related with life, health and non-life general issues.
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The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.
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There are several types of renters insurance. There include:Actual Cash Value,Replacement Cost,Floater policy..
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Great post! I’ve been very interested in insurance for a long time. I didn’t know that "1984", Newspeak and Insurance Language
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Great analogy. Companies mystify us with their jargon and we're too ignorant to ask the real, useful questions. They like to keep us in the dark so they can suck money and life out of us.
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Jargon is a way to protect one's specialization from outside intervention. Obviously in the case of insurance (of even legal) documents, it's also meant to mislead customers so that they purchase the products or need the help of the company's agent, who is in a better position to sell the product. Such language should be outlawed, IMHO.
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