Friday April 17, 2009, 3:32 pm
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington — Civilian workers who suffered devastating injuries while supporting the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home to a grinding battle for basic medical care, artificial limbs, psychological counseling and other services.

The insurance companies responsible for their treatment under taxpayer-funded policies have routinely denied the most serious medical claims. Those insurers -- primarily American International Group (AIG) -- recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in profits on this business.

The civilian contractors have played an indispensable role in the two conflicts, delivering fuel to frontline troops, guarding U.S. diplomats and translating for soldiers during dangerous raids. More than 1,400 civilian workers have died and 31,000 have been wounded or injured in the two war zones.

Yet unlike wounded soldiers, who are offered health care, rehabilitation and support services by the military, the civilians have to battle a federally supervised insurance system marked by high costs and excessive delays, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times [1], ABC News [2] and ProPublica [3] has found.

In contrast to the public outcry over squalid conditions at some military hospitals, the contractors' plight has drawn little attention.

read the whole article, click on link above

Saturday April 18, 2009, 11:54 am
AIG rips off more than taxpayers AIG covers about 90% of the people who are injured while working overseas for defense contractors...if you can call what the company does 'insured' that is. Of over 30,000 claims examined, a pattern emerged that shows the company pays minor claims without hesitation. But larger claims, for more serious injuries, an astounding 43% of the claims were challenged. One of the most outrageous claims they denied involved refusing to cover a prosthetic leg for a former KBR truck driver who was injured so severely he lost a leg and his eyesight. "You have to ask a second time, a third time, a fourth time, and you're still not getting it," the man complained. Houston attorney Toby Cole, who represents many of the injured contractors, told ABC, "It's difficult for me to think it's anything but a concentrated effort just to ignore these guys."

Saturday April 18, 2009, 3:46 pm
I've heard people complain that a Medicare like gov. system would result in rationed health care. I don't see how they can try to make that argument with a straight face given what we all know about insurance companies rationing care and the way care is rationed to those who cannot afford health insurance.

Saturday April 18, 2009, 8:27 pm
Given That All Civilized Countries Have Universal Health Care...


...why doesn't the United States? This is a partial explanation.

Sunday April 19, 2009, 2:03 pm
Miranda Chiu,
This Miranda Chiu,www.dbacomp.com/connections.html

Miranda Chiu, U.S. Dept. of Labor,

Chief, Branch of Policy,

Regulations and Procedures,

DOL/ESA/OWCP/DLHWC

Is quoted in the above story as saying:

“The problem that we see a lot is where injuries occur overseas,

Note: All DBA injuries occur overseas unless they are on the way to or from the overseas jobsite. The DBA is for overseas workers.

the knee-jerk reaction is the insurance company says, ‘I can’t pay right now. I don’t have documentation,’ ” said Miranda Chiu, Labor’s director of policy for Defense Base Act claims. “They drop the ball.”

Now according to the Defense Base Act:

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), Division
of Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation, administers the Defense Base Act, ensuring that workers’ compensation benefits are provided for covered employees promptly and correctly.

How much blood on the ground does it take to get documentation?

The employer and the injured contractor have specific time limits, like 10 days, on the time they get to provide the proper documents. No investigations allowed for them.

Miranda,

AIG and CNA couldn’t get away with dropping the ball as a matter of rule if the

Department of Labor was anywhere near the park.

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 12:43 am
Aaaah, yes just like Bank of America not doing any bad mortgages why is it surprising that AIG follows suit!

We been had folks!