is really standard operating procedure in the life insurance industry. new york s attorney general cuomo is investigating. he charges, quote, the insurance industry appears to be hoarding millions that belong to military families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. what exactly does he mean by hoarding? when a soldier dies, the family receives a package listing options for the death benefit. one option is a lump sum but prudential doesn t automatically mail a check. instead, the company creates what it calls an alliance account, a personal interest-bearing account giving you full access to your money. when the heirs want money they write a check and deposit it. well, tell us, i guess what s being criticized, the reason is because soldiers families aren t making much interest on that money? is that right? reporter: that is exactly the case. the money sits with prudential. it currently pays interest of only 0.5%. the insurance company of course is able t
interest-bearing accounts for the insurance industry. cnn s senior correspondent allan chernoff joins us from new york. allan, say it isn t so. it s hard to believe this even could happen. drew, let s put this in perspective. we re actually looking at a dispute over standard operating procedure in the life insurance industry. the new york attorney general, andrew cuomo is saying it appears, and he is investigating this issue, of whether or not life insurance companies are actually withholding payments from families of those who have died serving our country. let s look at what he said himself. quote, the insurance industry appears to be hoarding millions that belong to military families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. now, what is cuomo talking about with regard to hoarding? well, prudential financial is the precise life insurance company that has a contract with the military. in fact, they have been dealing with the military for more than
among the most hysterical and completely bogus of drivers to public opposition to health care reform has been the idea the u.s. government plans to determine which senior citizens among us should die and when. they are the death panels, and they don t exist. yeah, the rachel maddow show has done what we could to figure out why so many people believed the death panels do exist. in 1993 the last time a newly elected democratic president was pursuing health care reform two of his most formidable foes were harry and louise, a fictional middle-aged couple sitting at a kitchen table talking smack about how dangerous it would be to reform the american health care system. harry and louise of course weren t just a freelance actual middle class couple concerned about cutting into the insurance industry s profit margins. they were actors hired by the insurance industry to try to sink the reform plan. well, incidentally, the same actors who portrayed harry and
though this time they came back with a twist. check it out. before the summer of the screaming town hall, before death panels and fake grass roots antihealth reform bus tours, outrage in the country before all of that was fueling the movement for health reform. that outrage was aimed at the insurance industry for jacking up rates and denying people coverage and dropping sick people from their rolls. prepared to return to that quaint time, because thanks to a report out today from the advocacy group health care for america now, we have just learned that the five largest for profit insurers in this country made a combined $12.2 billion last year. for those of you keeping track at home that is a 56% increase from 2008. a new profit record set of course in the middle of the worst economic decline since the great depression. they accomplished this record feat at least in part by
even the deathers came back. though this time they came back with a twist. check it out. before the summer of the screaming town hall, before death panels and fake grassroots antihealth reform bus tours, outrage in the country before all of that was fueling the movement for health reform. that outrage was aimed at the insurance industry for jacking up rates and denying people coverage and dropping sick people from their rolls. prepared to return to that quaint time, because thanks to a report out today from the advocacy group health care for america now, we have just learned that the five largest for-profit insurers in this country made a combined $12.2 billion last year. for those of you keeping track at home that is a 56% increase from 2008. a new profit record set of course in the middle of the worst economic decline since the great depression. they accomplished this record feat at least in part by covering 2.7 million fewer