ProJo columnist Edward Fitzpatrick casts a gimlet eye on the new biodegradable/compostable/recyclable Blue Cross office building and sees right through to the fancy new offices, cafeteria and gym with their sweeping views of Waterplace Park and beyond. The costs of this new building are apparently to be borne by the direct payers, subscribers with no leverage to oppose the newly proposed 10.2% rate hike. Mr. Fitzpatrick also mentions the $15 being offered to entice people to fill out a “member satisfaction survey”. The official line from RIBCBS is that,
it’s common to pay a “small stipend” to participate in surveys, and this survey is “designed to better understand our members’ health care experiences” as the insurer undergoes “a business transformation designed to help improve the health of Rhode Islanders and moderate long-term health-care costs.”
These ‘surveys’ are worded and crafted in such a way that there is no way Blue Cross won’t come up with huge satisfaction numbers — everybody loves us!
How about this anyway — you guys are always talking about ‘wellness’ — let the direct payers use that gym.
Unless someone hires an outside, unbiased company to do their research, how can they be trusted?
My brother’s been running online surveys of the “sell the results for a lot of money kind”, so the results have to be actionable, i.e. dependable, i.e., not skewed. They pay a stipend: $1.