Healthcare insurers get upper hand

[undeterred]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington - Lashed by liberals and threatened with more government regulation, the insurance industry nevertheless rallied its lobbying and grass-roots resources so successfully in the early stages of the healthcare overhaul deliberations that it is poised to reap a financial windfall.

The half-dozen leading overhaul proposals circulating in Congress would require all citizens to have health insurance, which would guarantee insurers tens of millions of new customers -- many of whom would get government subsidies to help pay the companies' premiums.

"It's a bonanza," said Robert Laszewski, a health insurance executive for 20 years who now tracks reform legislation as president of the consulting firm Health Policy and Strategy Associates Inc. Some insurance company leaders continue to profess concern about the unpredictable course of President Obama's massive healthcare initiative, and they vigorously oppose elements of his agenda. But Laszewski said the industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled down to a single word: "Hallelujah!"

The insurers' success so far can be explained in part by their lobbying efforts in the nation's capital and the districts of key lawmakers. The bills vary in the degree to which they would empower government to be a competitor and a regulator of private insurance. But analysts said that based on the way things stand now, insurers would come out ahead.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/healthcare/la-na-healthcare-insurers24-2009aug24,0,6925890.story

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:mad:

[Cleita]

1. If they say so, then it must be true...sure.

We already know they have bought our government. It isn't over though until the fat lady sings and that fat lady is us, the majority of Americans. Oh btw those writers are well known right wing hacks. Thom Hartmann, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, time for another outing of the lying liars who tell the lies.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Hopefully, it's a wake up call to people. Some have constued Obama and the Dems as battling

the insurance industry. I never bought it. It seemed like a useful myth to get people to hop on board to insure the industry won big and to rally the troops to support crappy half assed reform.

[dflprincess]

25. I gathered from a comment Olbermann made tonight

that he'll be going after United Health Group on tomorrow's show.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[unkachuck]

3. "...the

industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled down to a single word: "Hallelujah!"

....if this isn't an agrument for Single Payer, I don't know what is....

....see, the money is there folks, if we cut these slimy bastards out of the equation.

[2Design]

4. if this is what gets in - the hell with all of them - vote republican and

have the economy completely crash so they don't get their pensions or benefits EITHER = screw this

[Alhena]

5. I fear this issue will destroy Obama's presidency ... even if he uses his political

capital to get it passed, what passes will be the kind of putrid, smoke-filled-room kind of bill that Republicans will JUSTIFIABLY be able to use as fodder against Obama and the Democratic party for years.

We are walking into a trap, folks. Actually, I feel like we are running into a trap, hand in hand.

We should be concentrating on SIMPLE legislation like raising tax rates for millionaires. This complex stuff is so easy for lobbyists to fix.

[John Q. Citizen]

7. Single payer is very simple and very unpopular with the insurance industry

It also has worked everywhere it's been tried. It contains costs and allows everyone access to quality health care. What are we waiting for?

[saigon68]

15. NO----- his explanding WAR is well on its way to doing that.

Now mullin wants 20,000 more to go to Kabul Land

[joeycola]

20. Taken together, these two could blow it-that is a given.

[JeanGrey]

26. You got it. But they won't back down because there is too

much lobbying money for their pockets. Gives you a nice warm feeling, don't it?

[Skittles]

6. here's your change, people

[Left Coast2020]

8. I actually don't believe this story.

The insurance industry is totally against competition. So is the L.A. Times. When this bill passes, and it will pass, it can be tweeked through amendments. But I thought I read a story here yesterday that Waxman is in an investigation of insurance companies now? I have the sense from all the BS from past 2 weeks, dems have just begun to understand what will happen if they lose this. I don't think they want to.

[Skittles]

10. I'm hoping the complaints are pouring in

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Insurance stocks are doing extremely well. They went to all the meetings and held news conferences

with Obama to announce they were all on the same page.

i completely believe the story. The public options in both HR3200 and in the HELP bill are almost non-existent and their is "level playing field" language in both bills that mean the insurance companies have nothing to fear.

They will get about 40 million new customers who are subsidized with tax dollars.

Fire dog lake has been doing stories about how happy Rahm is about the fact that contributions are pouring in from the insurance companies to the Dems much more that to the Repos, and about how that looks like the future.

This story is real. Check the stock market. Investors aren't pouring money into health insurance stocks because they are in danger, that's for sure.

[cornermouse]

17. Government option is where all the sick people,

current and past, will be forced to go. This is a win/win for insurance companies all the way around. Single payer is the only thing that will actually work for the people. What you're looking at now is another raid on the treasury; this time by the insurance industry.

[TheWatcher]

27. And this is why you will never get real change in this country.

Both sides of the Political Argument continue to cling to only nuggets and sound bytes of Propaganda that make them feel good.

The day the American People finally wake up to the fact that NEITHER Side is on OUR side, then perhaps change can happen.

For now we will continue to simmer to death in this purgatory, this false paradigm of abject bullshit.

[lovepg]

9. All the legislation makes it law we must support these corporate killers by buying insurance ....

Everytime they deny care for their profits some people die. And now we are gonna be forced to buy insurance from them.
Tell me how this is anything but another reaming by our paid off "leaders" in Washington.

[bkkyosemite]

11. Bastards. Why can't Obama see that Single Payer is the Only Way To Go!!! Who is holding what over

him. I am really starting to think there may be a scenario we are not privy to.

[joeycola]

19. Obama recognizes that money counts-. Sad.

[Proletariatprincess]

13. Tax the churches!

Why hasn't anyone suggested taxing religous organizations to provide health care for the country? Isn't it what Jesus would do? And Moses? And Mohammed? What good does religion really do for our society that it deserves to be tax free? Make it practice what it preaches.

[sabrina 1]

14. Insurance Reform not Healthcare Reform

I remember the Cigna whistleblower when he was asked what the Insurance Industry thought about the millions that were uninsured saying that they saw them as 'potential customers'.

It looks like what has been called 'healthcare reform' was nothing more than a plan to increase profits for entities that we do not need.

If the American people allow this to happen, then it's probably time to start thinking about finding another place to live.

As for Obama, more and more I'm thinking this was the deal he made to become president. In return he'll probably be allowed a few 'liberal' policies, to try to keep the base on board long enough to get a second term.

I'm beginning to think that no one can get to be president without making a deal with who really runs this country. The trade off may be a few issues that are important to either party. For the Repubs, they got their religious fundies on the SC.

But we the people COULD foil them if we had the will to do it. People who are healthy could boycott all of them, stop paying their premiums and go abroad if they medical care. Insurance Cos are now trying to get into that business also. Who needs them to go to Europe for medical care? My girl-friend just went to Europe for dental work as she could not afford it here. She got better care and it was one third the cost of having it done here, including travel and they provided room an board.

But I know that the American people will never have the will to do that. They will moan for a while, and then struggle on with an even more expensive healthcare system and after a while, it will just be accepted as part of life. It really is up to us. I will not pay into any insurance program as long as I'm healthy. That's about all I can do not to be a part of this scam.

[tinrobot]

16. Wealth insurance or health insurance?

Seems like these bastards are insuring their own fortunes.

[depakid]

18. Now that's a whistling past the graveyard piece if I ever read one

The health insurance industry and the failing LA Times- they deserve each other.

[joeycola]

21. Many insurers have been making Happy statements for weeks now.

[midnight]

22. Single payer Now!

[Lionel Mandrake]

23. The parasites are thriving

Just as the beetle helps the fungus
To kill the tree
The lobbyist helps insurers
To kill you and me

[undeterred]

24. If we get cheated out of true health care reform this round,

lets put the insurance companies on notice that we won't stop till we have single payer health care for all and they are rooted out of existence.