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CareFirst Watch Coalition Update - April 2005
Margot Aronson, GWSCSW president, and Mary Lee Stein, GWSCSW liaison to the
CareFirst Watch Coalition, represented our Society at the hearing held by DC
Insurance Commissioner Mirel on March 24, 2005. CareFirst presented its
arguments for the first two hours, describing itself as a good corporate citizen
with no particular obligation to the public beyond its subscribers, and claiming
that the huge reserves they have amassed (far beyond those of any of the other
Blues or any for-profit insurance company) are needed, in case of a catastrophe.
Commissioner Mirel questioned CareFIrst witnesses, then gave the DC Appleseed
Center for Law and Justice an hour to present the findings of their intensive
two-year study (see
http://www.dcappleseed.org), which concluded that CareFirst has a legal
obligation to the community, and its surplus (that is, well over and above what
can conceivably be needed, using insurance standards) speaks to an obligation of
at least $50 million per year.
After a brief break for lunch, a variety of insurance folks, CareFirst grant recipients, and concerned community groups gave testimony. Following is what GWSCSW presented:
We have been asked to speak to the charitable obligation of CareFirst by the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work, by the Maryland Clinical Social Work Society, and by the Clinical Social Work Guild 49 of the Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).
Several years ago, learning of plans for multi-million dollar compensation packages set aside for executives involved in a takeover of CareFirst, our local non-profit BlueCross Blue Shield affiliate, we in the Society were outraged. As social workers daily seeing the critical health and mental health needs of clients go untreated because insurance coverage is out of reach, we found this level of management greed to be morally offensive. (I might add that CareFirst social work provider rates of $50 to $66 per hour seemed quite a contrast to what it pays its executives, and what the company evidently can afford.) On learning that the buyout plans had involved minimal attention to the non-profit’s financial responsibilities to the community, we were even more offended.
We realize that the buy-out proposal is dead, at least for now. However, the issues it raised are very much with us. From the beginning, the Society decided to follow the issue closely; we joined the CareFirst Watch coalition and have stayed involved as the Appleseed study proceeded. We were pleased to participate in the public health survey portion of the Appleseed study of the CareFirst charitable obligation to citizens of the National Capital Area.
We in the Society are convinced, based on the conclusions of Appleseed’s intensive analysis, that the local CareFirst affiliate has a much greater charitable obligation to the District of Columbia community than it has proposed. Unlike other Blues around the country, CareFirst has taken advantage of its non-profit status for many years without fulfilling the charitable side of the equation. In fact, the organization has benefitted not just from its special tax-exempt status but from the mere fact that we all tend to see the Blues as beneficent, as doing their best within the limits; many of us have chosen to subscribe with them and work with them because of that moral edge.
We social workers see mental health issues running through all the problems of the District: HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, gangs, teen pregnancy; we urge that the mental health needs of the community be considered in any public conversation about what health services might be supported by increased charitable activity from CareFirst. Whether the amount of CareFirst obligation -- that would not add to subscriber rates or in any way threaten the organization’s viability -- is as Appleseed calculates, $50 million per year, there is absolutely no question that CareFirst should be contributing significantly more.
We ask that you hold CareFirst to its moral and ethical responsibility, as well as its legal obligation, for a significantly increased charitable activity. Thank you.
For GSCSW Legislative
Information contact:
GWSCSW
5028 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington DC 20016
Phone 202 537 0007
Fax 202 364-0435
Email GWSCSW@gmail.com
Website http://www.gwscsw.org