The article suggests that insurers are pulling out of Florida and that this is a Florida-only problem, when, in fact, they are dropping coverage throughout the nation. The survey revealed that not a single insurer was withdrawing from the Florida market exclusively. Although this may seem a subtle difference, it has great meaning for policymakers in this state. If insurers were abandoning only the Florida market, state policymakers would need to address this concern at the state level. Instead, this national trend requires a national solution, and we need to examine the reasons from a national perspective.
Insurers are scared away by bad behavior and bad risks.
The nursing-home corporations have repeatedly demonstrated themselves to be the worst kind of risk. Recnt Securities and Exchange Commission filings continue to document widespread allegations of Medicare fraud, insider trading, false claims and unjust enrichment. In July, the Health Care Financing Administration concluded that more than half the homes in the nation were dangerously understaffed and that this understaffing was directly linked to widespread suffering and the untimely deaths of residents. And, no surprise, these preventable deaths often lead to very serious lawsuits. If you compound the fraud, corruption and bad business decisions with the crisis in care, it is clear why insurers are pulling out of the market entirely.