AMA President, Dr. Patrice Harris
AMA Plaza
330 N. Wabash Ave. Suite 39300
Chicago, IL 60611-5885
April 3, 2020
Dear Dr. Harris;
Given the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the magnitude of the healthcare bills facing the American people, how can you in good conscience continue allowing insured patients to believe the form they sign “agreeing to pay whatever their health insurance fails to pay for their care” has any enforceability in law. Particularly when: 1.) What we are led to call health insurance is no more insurance in law than a membership in the YMCA, and 2.) The laws of every state as well as the Provider Agreements all in-network hospitals/providers sign make it absolutely clear that an in-network patient does “NOT” owe what isn’t paid by their so-called health insurance.
I’ve never lost this argument with an insurer, provider or industry attorney in protecting my family. However, I am more than willing to be shown where I am wrong. In fact, PLEASE tell me where I’m wrong if you can, as this is an issue AMA fully understands! See www.killAbill.com .
At an earlier point in my career I got credit for forcing the EPA to discard 3 years of work and completely rewrite the compliance regulations for the Clean Air Act. The argument there was EPA was ignoring the restrictions Congress placed on the use of presumptively credible evidence for enforcement. Here, it’s simply having studied the insurance industry’s Provider Agreements and understanding that a prohibition on billing a patient is literally a prohibition on billing a patient.
I await your reply at a time when the nation desperately needs honesty from the AMA. For, without the honest support of the doctors you represent, we simply can’t have the healthcare the nation deserves and desperately needs.
Respectfully,
Frank Lobb
cc:
USA Today
US Congressman Greg Walden
Wall Street Journal
US Attorney, Geoffrey Berman
New York Times
PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro
Los Angeles Times
NY Attorney General Letita James
New York Post
MD Attorney General Brian Frosh
New York Daily News
Kaiser Health News
Washington Post
Commonwealth Fund
Chicago Tribune
American Health Lawyers Association
Philadelphia Inquire
The Atlantic – James Hamblin
Houston Chronicle
Time Magazine – Steven Brill
Arizona Republic
Association of Health Care Journalists
Dallas Morning News
Annenberg Center for Health Journalism
Newsday, NY
American Health Lawyers Association
San Francisco Chronicle
American Bar Association, Health Law Home
Boston Globe
US Attorney Geoffrey Berman
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
New York Attorney General
Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
California Medical Billing Associates
News/Free Press (Detroit)
Alliance of Claims Assistance Professionals
St. Petersburg Times
Alliance of Professional Health Advocates
Oregonian (Portland)
Consumer Watchdog
Union-Tribune (San Diego)
Public Citizen
Bee (Sacramento)
Patient Advocate Certification Board
St. Louis Post Dispatch
American Patient Rights Association
Miami Herald
National Patient Advocate Foundation
Indianapolis Star
Patient’s Rights Council
Kansas City Star
National Health Law Program (DC, LA, & NC Offices)
Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
Express-News (San Antonio)
Baltimore Sun
Detroit News
Southern Poverty Law Center
Boston Herald
ACLU
Buffalo News
Americans For Democratic Action
Seattle Times/Post/Intelligencer
Center for American Progress
News Journal (Delaware)
NameSpark
Philadelphia Daily News
Citizens Council for Health Freedom
Honolulu Advertiser
Institute for Justice
Jacksonville Times-Union
Harvard School of Public Health
Fair Health
See Other Articles in the Series
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 8
Note: This is Part 8 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "HMO, PPO HDHP or POS, It Really Doesn't Matter" When I first became aware of how easy it is for health insurance to deny coverage and care, the HMO was the dominant...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 7
Note: This is Part 7 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "Coverage Even When Your Plan Says No" In our last article we explained your healthcare plan’s essentially unlimited right to deny coverage and payment for the care your...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 6
Note: This is Part 6 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "Their Secret Provider Agreement" When it comes to accessing healthcare, we face two very separate realities. The first is the one Congress and the healthcare insurance...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 5
Note: This is Part 5 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "Your Doctor vs. Their Doctor" In our last article we stressed the importance of recognizing the subtle difference between denying payment for insurance purposes and...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 4
Note: This is Part 4 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "The Importance of 'Medical Necessity'" The healthcare plans we have today have their origin in the 1930’s and the Depression. Back then, the nation’s doctors and...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 3
Note: This is Part 3 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "Their Two Definitions for Covered Services" As much as the insurance industry would like us to believe that the “Covered Services” for our healthcare plan are the...
What You Need to Know About Health Insurance Part 2
Note: This is Part 2 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. "It's Not Insurance" What we have been led to view as our very own health “insurance” doesn’t come close to meeting the definition of insurance. Yes, it distributes...
What You Need to Know About Your Health Part 1
Note: This is Part 1 of an 8 part series that is also being published in the Chester County Press. When our parents needed healthcare, their health insurance guaranteed them the care and coverage that offered the “best possible outcome” as determined by their doctor....