Now you see it, now you....just kidding. You're NEVER gonna see it.

A few years ago we did a fairly sizeable home remodel for a client.  In conversation I learned that the Mrs was a now-retired hospital CFO.  (Her hospital was absorbed into another even larger system, and she took her bonus/payout and retired.)  I shared with her my frustration trying to figure out hospital and doctor statements, and she just chuckled and said, "Of course you're frustrated.  That's by design."

She told me how hospitals had a MSRP Blue Book (my term, as I can't remember what she actually called it) which listed their charges for everything you could possibly imagine.  "Appendectomy $19,300; double heart bypass $94,000; set broken arm $12,600, aspirin $10", etc (I can't remember her actual numbers).  

But then she told me their dirty little secret:  ALL their numbers were totally made up!  They bore no resemblance at all to their actual costs.  There is no industry standard.  And every other hospital had their own Blue Book, too, with their own totally made up prices, and they often differed widely.  That's why you'll hear TV investigative reporters tell of how one hospital charges $300 for a mammogram, while another across town charges $2,700.

Of course insurance companies have contract pricing where they pay MUCH less, but if you have to pay yourself, this is what they bill you.  Some pay, some walk it entirely, but some come back to negotiate (and the hospitals allow themselves LOTS of room to negotiate).  It's a giant shell game!

Some doctors do something similar.  You call a doctor and ask if they take your brand of insurance and are told yes, so you make an appointment.  A few weeks later you find out from your insurance company that the doctor charged more than the "usual and customary" fee, and that the balance is up to you.  Gee, thanks for telling me up front, doc.

Ditto for prescription drugs from your insurance plan or Medicare drug supplement.  They cover what is on their "formulary" list only.  Their what?  If it isn't on their list, you're SOL.  (Shit Out of Luck)  And they list page after page of things like hydrothialomicizinetine trididodickyluckypucky.  WTH?  What happened to "Lyrica" or "Crestor"?  Sadly this is the way our world works today....you're led to believe one thing, only to find out later the fine print screwed you over.

We little guys don't stand a chance!

So now they're going to REPEAL AND REPLACE Obamacare.  OK, great, by all accounts it needed to be overhauled.  But please tell me how they're going to get all those various interests, each with their own proprietary fine print, to agree to a viable replacement?  Each will be maneuvering to throw the other under the bus first. (No honor among thieves, you know.)  And it will eventually have to be voted on by Congress....yes, bought-and-paid-for Congress.  *bend over folks*

There's fine print everywhere....buried in that 8 page credit card agreement, that 75 page mortgage document, your homeowners/renters/auto/life insurance policies, your auto loan agreement, that investment prospectus....everywhere!

Here's the deal:  most businesses today don't WANT you to know how they operate.  They LOVE doing business in the shadows.  Transparency is the LAST thing they want.

Ever hear of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?  It was an outgrowth of the financial meltdown back in '08.  Its supporters will tell you it exists to slap down businesses that take advantage of unsuspecting consumers (ie: non-lawyers who can't understand all that legalese/fine print).  Detractors, such as the Big Banks, the US Chamber of Commerce, and I'm sad to say the Republican establishment, will tell you it "interferes with their ability to conduct business as they feel they need to", and besides, regulations are JUST DOWNRIGHT UN-AMERICAN!!  *saluting flag*

Seems to me if the Big Banks, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the Republican establishment (and probably more than a few Democrats, too) would behave the way their mamas taught them, there wouldn't be a need for a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What you DON'T know WILL hurt you, or at least COST you.  Caveat Emptor now more than ever, my friends.

S

He who has the gold....needs to be watched carefully

Just kidding.  Not really.

If there was an Academy Award for "Most Despicable Way To Screw The Public" it would have to go to the big mega-banks.  This was in the weekend newspaper:

The FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are investigating the big banks for their role in helping the internet payday lenders rip off consumers.  The big banks don't loan money directly to ignorant/desperate borrowers (too much bad press), but they do enable the offshore-based payday loan sharks to withdraw money directly from borrowers accounts, even in those states (15 of them) where payday loans are illegal.

So what's in it for the banks?  People desperate enough to go to payday lenders generally have next-to-nothing in their bank accounts at any given time.  So the payday lenders withdraw money from borrowers accounts whenever they find a few dollars there, which means many of the customer's other checks are likely to bounce later.  

That triggers overdraft fees, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars (soon billions as the internet payday lenders expand) to the banks.  Cha-Ching!

Even when consumers instruct their banks to NOT allow further withdrawals from their accounts (which by law they can do), the banks often take months before they begin following their customer's orders, charging their fees in the interim.

These payday lenders are being pursued by state attorney's generals for charging 500-1,500% interest, so they're moving away from their traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts to places such as Grenada, Belize, Malta, and the West Indies where they operate online out of reach of regulators, plus they get "lawsuit protection and tax reduction."  Nice folks, huh?  And the banks play an instrumental role in this ripoff.  Without their complicity the whole scam is pretty much straitjacketed.

Yeah, yeah, I know....nobody puts a gun to people's head and makes them borrow from these crooks.  And nobody makes addicts buy drugs from pushers, either.  Some people are just desperate, ignorant, easy marks.  These people aren't being served, they're being preyed upon.

And this very minute the banks are lobbying feverishly, asking us to trust them and relax the regulations that keep them in line.  They say they can "self regulate".

So big banks....you want us to trust you?  Then quit pulling crap stunts like this.

S

A wake up call

Politics is basically just a numbers game, right?  Whoever gets the most votes wins.  While the rich might have the money, it's the middle class, and to a lesser extent the lower economic class, that has the numbers (votes) necessary to win an election.  If you don't understand that, ask Mitt Romney to explain it to you.

So here's what I don't get:  Why does the Republican Party time and again shoot themselves in the foot by taking stands against the middle class?  Consider this....President Obama just yesterday appointed Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  He currently heads that Bureau with a recess (temporary) appointment, and now Obama is asking the Senate to make it permanent.

Senate Republicans have already said they would not support him or any candidate for that position.  It isn't that they have any particular bone to pick with Mr. Cordray.  They just don't like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, period.  I suppose it has something to do with "big government", "too much regulation", etc.  

Keep in mind the CFPB is charged with making sure mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financial firms (payday lenders?) play by the rules.  Heaven knows in years past they have been the most egregious of consumer abusers.  

By their opposition to the CFPB isn't the Republican Party in essence saying they condone such a royal screwing of the middle class?  That's sure how it looks from where I sit.

I'm sure they see it as a stand on principle, but all it's accomplishing is getting them run over by the proverbial bus.  Instead they need to get on board and help establish and enforce some financial rules that are fair to consumers yet allow businesses to make a reasonable profit.  

A "win-win" deal is always good.  A position where the side you favor (big money) wins big and the other side (the consumer) gets crushed will make you a consistent second place finisher.

Come on Republicans.  America's demographics are increasingly working against you already.  If you don't reasses your positions you'll eventually become irrelevant.  Wake up!

S

Washington....home of the best politicians money can buy

Anybody been keeping up with Elizabeth Warren's nomination to become the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief?  She's a pretty feisty Harvard law professor who is hoping to be able to call the banks, credit card companies, mortgage originators, etc on the carpet for their blatantly anti-consumer business dealings.  They've been running amok for years under the premise "He who has the gold makes the rules". Many...OK, me...like the idea of having someone with the power and the willingness to do something looking out for the people's interests (although the idea of yet another bureaucracy bothers me).  


Recently she testified before a congressional committee and had the nerve to stand up to one of the congressmen interrogating her, a big Washington no-no.  The Republicans on the committee have already said there is no way they are going to confirm her nomination, so she really didn't lose much by standing up to him.  Still, I found it refreshing.


What I can't figure out is why the Republicans are willing to vote down a consumer advocate and stand beside the banks and credit card companies in light of all the sleazy things they've done and continue to do, and the near-collapse of the world economy they almost caused.  And got caught doing.  What are the Republicans thinking??  That would be like volunteering to be a character witness for Adolf Hitler.  (Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em.)


S