RE: Ambiguous words and Phrases

[poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net]

I know I'm venturing to off-topic material here, but just to follow up a bit on Dori's insurance company experience and the mis/mal/noncommunication from it, I advise all to rent / buy "Sicko" by Michael Moore.

Whatever your thoughts on how slanted he might or might not be, there are still many, many, MANY onscreen interviews in this film with current and former insurance company personnel with REAL experiences that scare the crap out of you and can't be denied. From the "customer service" rep who (I think) quit after the stress of being pressured to deny more and more coverage claims and worry more about the company than the subscribers to the medical director of one insurance company during a videotaped deposition for a lawsuit where he acknowledged that while his signature is at the bottom of one particular letter, his "signature" is really only on a rubber stamp used by others to do what they will. In other words, HE doesn't / didn't actually deny or agree to anything -- it was the beancounters issuing "medical" decisions with his "signature".

I especially fnd it horrendous that the insurance company -- after paying your claim -- can still come at you many years later for repayment (thousands of dollars) to them because it was the company's determination that you didn't mention something on a form that you weren't even asked about. The guy one insurance company paid to seek out this usually years-old, insignificant stuff also quit.

One company "surprisaingly" agreed to pay a claim initially denied after the claimant told them Michael Moore was working on a documentary about insurance companies.

It's like years ago when they said you know it's going to be a bad day when you find Mike Wallace and the "60 Minutes" film crew awaiting your arrival at your office.

-- Ken in Atlanta

-------------- Original message from "Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>: -------------- 


> V. Suresh wrote: 
> 
> Isn't there a need to give more clarity to a customer than that?? What 
> do you say? 
> 
> ****************** 
> 
> I say rots o' ruck. 
> 
> Those fluffy ambiguous letters are written very carefully, and on 
> purpose. 
> 
> An example: My health insurance company has just responded to letters 
> from my doctor and from me appealing their refusal to pay for 
> pre-exposure rabies shots for me (advisable because I'm working as a 
> volunteer to trap and neuter an entire colony of feral cats). After 
> three months we finally got a letter back letting us know that they are 
> pleased to let us know....but at the end we still can't figure out if 
> they're saying they'll pay for the danged shots or not. At $250 each 
> and three required, we would have preferred a straight answer but we 
> both know better than to hold our breath for one. 
> 
> I'm getting the shots and the doctor has agreed to take time payments if 
> the insurance company won't pay. 
> 
> Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do. 
> 
> If writing ambiguously on purpose is not prohibited in the STC's Code of 
> Ethics for Technical Writers, it should be. If STC does not have a Code 
> of Ethics for Technical Writers, it should. 
> 
> IMHO. YMMV. 
> 
> Dori Green 
> 
> What do I know, I'm that crazy woman who thinks cats shouldn't be left 
> to starve and die of preventable diseases just because they grew up and 
> weren't cute any more. 
> 
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