It certainly was irrelevant to people who were denied coverage when they got sick because they forgot to disclose a visit to a dermatologist, for example.  And it certainly was irrelevant to people who all of a sudden couldn't get claims approved for no apparent reason.  I know someone who worked for a large insurance company a while back, and he was told to "lose" the claims the first time they were filed, ignore them the second time, and if the claimant was persistent enough to keep filing, to deny them.  If they still came back, they would pay.  Most people just gave up - no claim paid, more money for the company.

No one is accusing YOU of doing any of this.  And no one believes you to be an unethical person set on finding ways to keep people from having claims paid.  No one is even saying that claimants themselves don't try scamming the insurance companies, getting unethical providers to submit bogus claims and splitting the money.  It happens.

But we've all read about the companies that looked for ways to deny and rescind coverage for people who developed chronic and/or costly conditions - regardless of how little these companies had paid out on the claimants' behalf up to that point.

Look, I work in a law firm.  I constantly hear people ragging on "all the crooked lawyers."  I know that the majority of lawyers are ethical and honorable, but I don't deny that there are some bad ones out there taking advantage of people.  And I understand that if one lawyer screwed over one client, it is irrelevant to that client that the majority of clients are treated well.