Commentary By Ron Beasley
The health care headlines over at Memeorandum:
- Democratic senator: Public health insurance option dead
- White House Appears Open to Insurance Co-ops
- Sebelius: There will be competition with private insurers
A day after President Obama appeared to suggest that his administration might be open to health care reform legislation that does not include a public health insurance option, one of Obama�s top aides on the issue left the door open to accepting nonprofit health insurance co-ops, a proposal that has gained traction in bipartisan negotiations in the Senate Finance Committee.
�I think there will be a competition to private insurers,� Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN�s State of the Union, �that really is the essential part, that you don�t turn over the whole new marketplace [after health care legislation is enacted] to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices, we need some competition.�
Yesterday pollster Rasmussen reported the 54% of Americans think no health care reform is better than the Congressional reform bill. I would change that a little bit - I think that no health care reform bill is better than what we are likely to get at this point. The insurance companies have won this round. But the insurance companies have few friends even the right. And things are only going to get worse. Next year there will be even more people without insurance and still more in two years. Even those who have insurance will find themselves paying more and more for less and less. Big pharma knows it and has cut a deal to protect their interests.
An unusual consortium of health care companies and patient advocates has launched a massive advert campaign to support Barack Obama's health care overhaul effort, in an attempt to counter frenzied opposition from conservatives and health insurance groups.
The $12m campaign by a new group, Americans for Stable Quality Care, will saturate the airwaves in key states during Congress's summer recess. Legislators have departed Washington for their constituencies and are gauging support for the Democrats' health care reform proposal.
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Americans for Stable Quality Care is funded by the nation's largest physicians group, the American Medical Association, a large pharmaceutical trade association, the Service Employees International Union and Families USA, a non-profit consumer advocate group.
Now big pharma is not doing this out of the kindness of their heart. They know two things:
More and more people are going to be uninsured meaning fewer and fewer people will be buying their products.
More and more people are going to be uninsured which means reform is inevitable and the result next time may be even more onerous.
The reality is that people have other concerns at the moment and things aren't bad enough yet to make serious reform possible.
Is this going to be a blow to the Obama presidency? The answer is yes. Does it really matter? The answer is no - The debacle in Afghanistan is going to bring him down anyway.
Our President is getting his first taste of going against the insurance industry, which is, make no mistake about it, a CARTEL, no longer the intended business model originally created to protect in an event of a loss, with their hands in all elections, all the time and process as much money as our government and in fact controls many public policies. Currently, what the insurance industry wants, the industry gets. They feel that no one is too big for them. With profits paramount, currently running health care as well as auto collision repair in there unsuccessfully dysfunctional way with no one to challenge them, as well as crushing free enterprise with their referral systems. When US States successfully created affordable government run workman�s comp insurance for business, the system currently works extremely well, with government achieving a much higher level of service at half the cost, but not surprisingly the insurance industry attempts to abolish the program every legislation cycle. They complain about being in competition with the government, but have no regard to health care patients well being, care facilities or the collision repair stores they our putting out of business daily by pushing all the patients or damaged autos through locations they own or have interest in, aggressively via referral systems. Insures are in competition with all businesses they pay claims to. From health care to auto repair. The insurance industry is currently a competitor to businesses and crushes whom they feel like, with no Federal Trade Commissions stopping them. The insurance industry controls the largest majority of claims service rendered. Free competition is long gone but seriously needs to be restored. I believe government should not just challenge the insurance industry, but to do its job and control them. I wish a leader to challenge the cartel, not give in to greed, and win. Mr. Obama, please don�t give up. The insurance industry can and should be restored back into its intended purpose. The insurance industry currently has more money than local governments and is right behind the federal government with regards to cash flow. They have hand placed policy makers in all levels of our government, federally and local. This presents serious threats to our government and should be investigated by the Federal Trades Commission, FBI and the CIA to ensure the stability of our government.
ReplyDeleteTHE POLITICIANS WHICH CLAIM THE PUBLIC DOESN�T SUPPORT OBAMAS PLAN ARE MOST LIKELY MOTIVATED BY THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY LOBBYISTS, A USUAL DAY IN WASHINGTON.