The Special Interests of Coventry Health Care Inc of Bethesda MD

Tuesday’s Tirade
Throw the Rascals Out

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." ~Abraham Lincoln (attributed)

Today, America rages against financial institutions and rightly so. Does greed ruin lives? I believe so. The next waterloo may well be health insurance plans. For me personally, that time will not arrive soon enough.

Deceitful people can be really cruel and despicable. Spin can be just as morally reprehensible as spin limits the truth. Coventry Health Care, Inc. of Bethesda MD believes that their personnel can lie and get away with it. They believe that solely by moving key employees out of their positions, they can forget many conversations and happenings about my case and state under oath, “I don’t remember Penny Stenger.” Will this fool a jury? Not in Ohio County, I believe.

Truth is always available. While it may be difficult at times to uncover truth, patience and faith lights the way. And then there will be no place to hide.

Coventry deceived me time after time. There’s a pattern. The evidence exists with witnesses to support my testimony. After four years of investigation, Coventry well knows my determination to hold them accountable. But pride has a way of blinding people, so Coventry may not believe that it will ever have to publicly face the possible consequences of its abusive treatment of me and others, including the many who were denied life.

Coventry has attempted to manipulate me many times over four years. I am the David in the story of David and Goliath. What are my stones? Blogging. Letters and e-mails. Lobbying. Uniting with watchdog groups. While some advocacy catches on, at times I have hit a roadblock. Then it takes dedication, courage, and perseverance to continue.

Last January I wrote to Senator Max Baucus of Montana who has a strong interest in passing health care reform legislation. I detailed my unique story about Carelink, my former HMO and its parent company, Coventry Health Care. Senator Baucus promised to respond within six weeks. But Baucus did not hold this promise sacred.

In yet another twist of fate, I recently learned that Senator Baucus knows how to “spin” the truth. The real truth? It is likely that Senator Baucus is interested in only part of heath care reform.

Last week I received a letter from consumerwatchdog.org of which I am a member:

Stop HMO $ From Gutting Obama-Care

Christine —

Outrageous! A new Consumer Watchdog study shows that the leading architect of health reform on Capitol Hill, Senator Max Baucus, has received more campaign contributions from HMOs and drug companies than any other Democrat, and is the third biggest recipient on the Hill overall.

Please send a free message to President Obama asking him to not waver in his demand for real affordable, accessible health care for every American. You can also find how much this excel chart of the $24 million in HMO and drug company contributions your legislators took by downloading.

Responding to our study, which was featured in this Washington Post article, Senator Baucus's spokesperson said the HMO money didn't matter. Yet Baucus's health plan requires every American to buy private insurance policies and doesn't allow all patients access to Medicare.

HMO executives are gathering at the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown today, plotting how to hijack the president's health care plan. They cannot be allowed to. Our DC director Carmen Balber took this video at a protest of the HMO conference. Please weigh in now with your protest note to President Obama.

Thanks for all your support. We are constantly amazed by how little the consumer's voice seems to matter on Capitol Hill. Your tax-deductible contributions allow us to make the politicians hear the public's will.

Thanks for all that you do,

Jamie Court

Words are obviously cheap. While my former HMO thinks in dollars, I think in heartbeats.

Tuesday’s Tale
Flashback

Veterans Day: A time to reflect...
November 11, 2005

Today is Veterans Day and we honor those who offer their lives so that we might enjoy all the freedoms that are uniquely American. We are proud today and the Pledge of Allegiance takes on fuller meaning.

Let's reflect again on this powerful pledge of freedoms:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.”

Over the centuries our veterans have fought valiantly to insure the rights of Americans. No one has the right to deny us a life without threats, to deny us a life without fear or to deny us a life without intimidation. Additionally, each of us deserves to be treated with dignity and with fairness by all.

It's Veterans Day. Maybe on this day, November 11, 2005, it might just be our turn to unite to further these freedoms. Not abroad in far off lands, but here on our hallowed ground. For together we will be victorious.

May God bless each of us with Liberty and Justice!

In 2005, I was urged by my spiritual director to fight for justice. Father warned me that I must be ingenious. “Is writing a blog ingenious?,” I asked. Father smiled and quietly said, “Yes.”

I began writing my blog on November 11, 2005, ten days after Carelink’s CEO, Patrick Dowd, accused me of fraud. It appears that Dowd’s letter was precipitated by a communication I had five days before when I spoke with Carelink Customer Service.

Does it not seem extreme to falsely accuse someone of fraud? Even irrational and confrontational? I believe so.

Here are the details of the conversation I had on October 25, 2005, with “Ruthie.” That was the last contact I had with Carelink for many months, as barriers were imposed.

I asked Ruthie to contact Patrick Quinn’s office about decision regarding my grievance. She will contact him.

I explained the deceit (four appeals, a serious complaint that went from Supervisor to Patrick Quinn to Corporate Legal to Supervisor for likely a “deep six” filing) that has gone on and my desire to fight for access with my blog. Ruthie kept apologizing. I told her that it was a systems problem and I expect an apology from someone higher up. Ruthie is the customer service representative who was so understanding when I requested and was initially denied my first c-pap.

RUTHIE SAID THAT IT WAS AN INTERNAL PROCEDURE NOT TO GIVE OUT E-MAIL ADDRESSES.

Ruthie will contact both Patrick and Nancy Phillips (Appeals Department). She will phone me this afternoon.

I must practice the need to know with each contact and conversation….


And people wonder why, at times, I appear so angry. What part of deceit don’t they get? Are they aware that there are many others who are likewise angry? My sleep apnea specialist later would describe Dowd’s action in falsely accusing a person living with a mental illness as “despicable.” My surgeon likewise expressed intense anger. I am by no means alone.