RUSH: Mary in Tampa, welcome to the EIB Network. Great to have you here.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush. It’s a pleasure speaking with you.
RUSH: Thanks very much.
CALLER: Obama’s health care, they make issues about comparing it to auto claims. Well, I’m an adjuster and I deal with ‘nonstandard,’ meaning people that can’t get insurance. What they do is, they come down here. Let’s take an example: New Yorkers. They come down here, they buy the basic minimum required for the state. Well, they live in New York. So what happens if they get in an accident there? We as the insurance company have to up our limits because we’re required by the state. So if they get rid of this state to state and let us just buy insurance it would be the same as health insurance, and none of this pork garbage.
RUSH: Oh, yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
CALLER: I mean, it’s like we pay minimums down here. In New York the premiums are higher. Of course they’re going to come down here and pay for that and then they live there and have accidents.
RUSH: Wait, wait just a second here. I’m confused by one thing you said. You’re talking about people who buy insurance, but you deal with people who can’t.
CALLER: Oh, no, no. We deal with people who have, like, tons and tons of traffic incidents and things of that nature so we charge ’em more money, which means ‘nonstandard.’
RUSH: Ah, yes. Okay. Well, that’s generally how it works. If you want more health coverage, it generally is going to cost you a little bit more money.
CALLER: What I’m saying is, though, most insurance companies have these issues where people, let’s say from New York come down here, buy their insurance, live in New York, and then they have accidents in New York, we being down here we’re not required to carry BI but New York is. Bodily injury coverage. So they’re not paying the premium for that coverage, but because New York mandates it, we have to give it to them, which is $25,000. So there are premiums.
RUSH: Wait here. I’m still kind of confused here and it’s because of my hearing limitation, my cochlear implant. Are you basically saying, Mary, that New Yorkers are a bunch of cheap state tightwads that come down here and game the system? They come down here and buy cheap auto insurance, go back to New York where they have none, and your company has to pay when they have a wreck?
CALLER: You betcha.
RUSH: Okay, I heard her correctly then. I thought so but I wanted to double-check.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: So what you’re saying is the consumer is not some little angel running around getting screwed and shafted by the insurance companies. There are a lot of consumers out there trying to screw and shaft the consumer, is that what you’re saying?
CALLER: Exactly. And then pay the higher premium because we’re dealing with fraudulent claims.
RUSH: Wait a minute. That can’t be true because President Obama says that every one of us is as clean and pure as the wind-driven snow, we are innocent, and it’s only people like you who are predatory against us —
CALLER: But, you know —
RUSH: — that you are screwing us and shafting us and raising our premiums! And, by God, he’s going to stop it and he’s going to raise ’em higher.
CALLER: Well, let him pay for it then! You know, I’m a woman, I’m a minority and, you know, so be it. If I’m a racist… I’m against the guy so I’m a racist? But, you know what? I have to pay for my premium. Let him go out there and pay for it!
RUSH: Well, that explains it all to me. The fact that you can pay for your premium means that you’re not in touch. You don’t know what life is really like as an American.
CALLER: Well, you know what? I’m tired of hearing these people whining and complaining about, you know, not having it. Well, you’re not entitled to it. Nowhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does it say you are entitled to have any fricking coverage. Go out and get it. Work for it.
RUSH: Yeah, you know, you (laughing).
CALLER: I’m sorry. (laughing)
RUSH: No —
CALLER: I’m not a liberal.
RUSH: (interruption) No, no. Snerdley, she’s not mean-spirited. She’s dealing with New Yorkers. How the hell could she be mean-spirited?
CALLER: You bet. Yeah.
RUSH: See?
CALLER: New York, California, Ohio, you’re going to have all these spring breakers down here and you know they can’t seem to freakin’ drive, but I gotta pay for their premiums.
RUSH: What do you mean spring breakers can’t drive? Why can’t they ‘freaking’ drive?
CALLER: Because they’re drunk.
RUSH: Oh.
CALLER: You know.
RUSH: Oh, oh.
CALLER: You know. Teenagers! Come on!
RUSH: Well, if you were selling health insurance you’d still have to insure them for being drunk and somehow make it your fault.
CALLER: I know, but you know what, though? I say get rid of the lawyers, get rid of this tort reform and watch how people can actually go out and afford to pay for their own coverage. I get sick of the name ‘insurance.’ It’s coverage! It’s not insurance, it’s coverage — Coverage! — for something that could happen.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: It’s against something happening. It’s kind of like… Really, I’m just aggravated with the whole thing.
RUSH: Yeah, I could tell you’re aggravated.
CALLER: Yeah, ’cause I gotta work eight hours a day and I gotta go out and pay for my things. I’ve got two kids. I go to school at night. I mean, I’m working my butt off but I gotta turn around and give it to somebody else who I know are out there staging fraudulent claims accidents and things like that.
RUSH: Look, I hate to tell you. If you think the New Yorkers are bad, just wait ’til the New Jersey people get here.