Health Insurance Industry Exposes Its Insatiable Greed
In the past few days, the health insurance industry's outrageous greed has been nakedly exposed.
After pretending for months to cooperate with the Obama administration and Democrats to secure a reasonable health reform bill, the industry's CEOs and lobbyists on Sunday double-crossed their one-time political allies by openly attacking a compromise bill crafted by Max Baucus, the conservative Montana Democratic who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. The Obama White House and the Democratic leadership in Congress were taken by surprise, and are angry at the industry's about-face on health reform.
"I'd spent a couple of hours with insurance industry folks last week, and yes I did feel blindsided," Nancy Ann DeParle, White House Office of Health Reform director, told NBC about the industry's stunt. "I did feel we were working constructively."
This could, ironically, help the reform cause, if the Democrats translate their anger at the big insurance companies into a tougher stance -- such as a stronger public option to compete with the private insurers and keep them honest with regard to profits, premium prices, and consumer neglect.
For months the Obama administration and Senate Democrats have been coddling the insurance industry giants, hoping to enlist their support for insurance reform. Karen M. Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry trade association, has been orchestrating the industry's cooperative stance with the Democrats drafting health care legislation. The mainstream media have published glowing profiles of Ignagni, admiring her skill at coaxing the big insurance companies to try to co-opt, rather than confront, the Democrats. The media has contrasted the industry's collaborative approach with its more combative stance during the early1990s, when President Clinton sought to enact health care reform. Then, the industry was a highly visible opponent of reform from the get-go, including paying for the infamous "Harry and Louise" TV ads that helped kill the Clinton reform plan.
But since then the number of Americans without any health insurance, and the number who face bankruptcy due to sky-high insurance bills, has increased significantly. Recognizing Americans' pent-up anger, the insurance industry changed its tactics, but not its goals. What the insurance industry wants is for the federal government to require all Americans to buy private insurance and to provide subsidies to families who can't afford the premiums. LinkHere
"I'd spent a couple of hours with insurance industry folks last week, and yes I did feel blindsided," Nancy Ann DeParle, White House Office of Health Reform director, told NBC about the industry's stunt. "I did feel we were working constructively."
This could, ironically, help the reform cause, if the Democrats translate their anger at the big insurance companies into a tougher stance -- such as a stronger public option to compete with the private insurers and keep them honest with regard to profits, premium prices, and consumer neglect.
For months the Obama administration and Senate Democrats have been coddling the insurance industry giants, hoping to enlist their support for insurance reform. Karen M. Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry trade association, has been orchestrating the industry's cooperative stance with the Democrats drafting health care legislation. The mainstream media have published glowing profiles of Ignagni, admiring her skill at coaxing the big insurance companies to try to co-opt, rather than confront, the Democrats. The media has contrasted the industry's collaborative approach with its more combative stance during the early1990s, when President Clinton sought to enact health care reform. Then, the industry was a highly visible opponent of reform from the get-go, including paying for the infamous "Harry and Louise" TV ads that helped kill the Clinton reform plan.
But since then the number of Americans without any health insurance, and the number who face bankruptcy due to sky-high insurance bills, has increased significantly. Recognizing Americans' pent-up anger, the insurance industry changed its tactics, but not its goals. What the insurance industry wants is for the federal government to require all Americans to buy private insurance and to provide subsidies to families who can't afford the premiums. LinkHere
Insurance-Company Racketeers Have Overplayed Their Hand
The insurance companies have overplayed their hand this time, one suspects. I wouldn't want to play poker against the Chicago pols now in the White House. The rapacious and desperate insurance companies will be sorry they pulled this latest stunt of making threats, even as predictable as they might be.
"Insurance companies aren't playing nice any more," read the HuffPost lead paragraph of Monday's story detailing the latest extortion threats of this disgraceful, thieving lot.
Since when have these thieves ever "played nice?"
They're the same crowd who sent busloads of drooling, misguided and uninformed flunkies out to town halls this summer to subvert democracy with their idiotic yammerings. It's the same racketeering industry that has attacked a good man, President Obama, ceaselessly since he began trying to keep his campaign promises about health care.
If the health insurance companies had been around during the Civil War, they would have sent goons out to heckle the Gettysburg Address. Goons with guns, probably.
For-profit health insurance companies are a national disgrace, and a uniquely American one.
They are also the most visible sign of the kind of rogue capitalism that has seen its high-water mark and exists nowhere else in the world today.
The insurance companies have overplayed their hand this time, one suspects. I wouldn't want to play poker against the Chicago pols now in the White House. The rapacious and desperate insurance companies will be sorry they pulled this latest stunt of making threats, even as predictable as they might be.
The other night, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, a guy I truly respect and admire, did an hour-long Special Comment/rant about health care. His central thesis is that the health care debate, above all, is about death, forestalling it or allowing it.
But it's about more than that. It's also about pain and suffering. Not every untreated injury results in death. Just suffering. And pain, sometimes of the intractable variety. E.g., broken bones, migraine headaches, wounds that won't heal.
These won't necessarily kill people. They'll just make humans suffer needlessly. Especially those with "pre-existing decisions."
So what if the Senate Finance Committee votes Tuesday NOT to slam the greedy, heartless bastards from the insurance companies and begin to put them out of business, where they surely are relegated?. Didn't four other Congressional committees approve a public option?
Why should Max "No Headroom" Baucus' committee, whose members represent less than seven percent of the U.S. population, have the final say? Why should insurance whores from small states easily bought off with insurance-company blood money have the final word on any of this?
And why should anyone believe -- or heed -- a single word of what the treacherous, greedy bastards from the organized-crime insurance rackets have to say?
The health-insurance companies will soon enough be relegated not to the ashheap of history, but to its sewage-treatment facility. LinkHere
"Insurance companies aren't playing nice any more," read the HuffPost lead paragraph of Monday's story detailing the latest extortion threats of this disgraceful, thieving lot.
Since when have these thieves ever "played nice?"
They're the same crowd who sent busloads of drooling, misguided and uninformed flunkies out to town halls this summer to subvert democracy with their idiotic yammerings. It's the same racketeering industry that has attacked a good man, President Obama, ceaselessly since he began trying to keep his campaign promises about health care.
If the health insurance companies had been around during the Civil War, they would have sent goons out to heckle the Gettysburg Address. Goons with guns, probably.
For-profit health insurance companies are a national disgrace, and a uniquely American one.
They are also the most visible sign of the kind of rogue capitalism that has seen its high-water mark and exists nowhere else in the world today.
The insurance companies have overplayed their hand this time, one suspects. I wouldn't want to play poker against the Chicago pols now in the White House. The rapacious and desperate insurance companies will be sorry they pulled this latest stunt of making threats, even as predictable as they might be.
The other night, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, a guy I truly respect and admire, did an hour-long Special Comment/rant about health care. His central thesis is that the health care debate, above all, is about death, forestalling it or allowing it.
But it's about more than that. It's also about pain and suffering. Not every untreated injury results in death. Just suffering. And pain, sometimes of the intractable variety. E.g., broken bones, migraine headaches, wounds that won't heal.
These won't necessarily kill people. They'll just make humans suffer needlessly. Especially those with "pre-existing decisions."
So what if the Senate Finance Committee votes Tuesday NOT to slam the greedy, heartless bastards from the insurance companies and begin to put them out of business, where they surely are relegated?. Didn't four other Congressional committees approve a public option?
Why should Max "No Headroom" Baucus' committee, whose members represent less than seven percent of the U.S. population, have the final say? Why should insurance whores from small states easily bought off with insurance-company blood money have the final word on any of this?
And why should anyone believe -- or heed -- a single word of what the treacherous, greedy bastards from the organized-crime insurance rackets have to say?
The health-insurance companies will soon enough be relegated not to the ashheap of history, but to its sewage-treatment facility. LinkHere
Unions will oppose Baucus bill unless it's changed
Source: ap
WASHINGTON — A top labor lobbyist says about 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill.
The ad says that unless the bill brought to the Senate floor makes substantial progress to address the concerns of working men and women, unions will oppose it.
The legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Chuck Loveless, says unions are unhappy that the legislation lacks a publicly run insurance plan and would tax insurers that provide expensive coverage.
Sponsors included the AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America. The ad will run in The Washington Post, USA Today and Capitol Hill newspapers. LinkHere
WASHINGTON — A top labor lobbyist says about 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill.
The ad says that unless the bill brought to the Senate floor makes substantial progress to address the concerns of working men and women, unions will oppose it.
The legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Chuck Loveless, says unions are unhappy that the legislation lacks a publicly run insurance plan and would tax insurers that provide expensive coverage.
Sponsors included the AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America. The ad will run in The Washington Post, USA Today and Capitol Hill newspapers. LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:13 PM
1 Comments:
Yes really i think this will be much informative blog. Because when we are going to discuss with the employee insurance certain things we have to focus. Really useful information. Thank you very much.
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