McClatchy Newspapers reports that two giant health insurance companies are outsourcing clinical services to India and the Philippines.
WASHINGTON – July 29 – After years of shipping data-processing, accounting and other back-office work abroad, some health care companies are starting to shift clinical services and decision-making on medical care overseas, primarily to India and the Philippines.Some of the jobs being sent abroad include so-called pre-service nursing, where nurses at insurance companies, for example, help assess patient needs and determine treatment methods.
Why outsource jobs when there professionals in this country who can perform the services? Why send this function to another country?
A claimed 30% cost savings is why and the companies are unapologetic. They owe it to the shareholders.
But what about he market for health insurance? Sending good paying jobs overseas reduces buying power here. It leads to unemployment that impacts the ability to get and pay for insurance, not to mention the impact on the rest of the economy.
Senior executives and major shareholders of Anthem and AETNA don’t care. They don’t have to. It’s all about the quarterly bonus. Who cares about the quality of care and the American worker.
McClatchy reports that this is a first. Previously, when clinical services were sent out of the country, it was due to some shortage here The jobs were repatriated.
Who do we hold responsible for this?
The management, board, and institutional shareholders for both firms are first in line. But a special award goes to the regulators across the country that allowed the nonprofit Bluecross/Blueshield firms to become for-profit. That added up to 30% to their costs for the profit needed, just the amount they now propose to save by this lousy action.
Thanks to LaurenH for her heads up on this.
