Obama speech leaves health care industry uncertain

[derby378]

Source: Associated Press

Shares of health insurers wavered in premarket activity Thursday after President Barack Obama made clear he is sticking to his goal of health care reform in a televised speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night.

The final impact on the health care industry is still far from certain as legislators continue the debate. Analysts caution that the stocks will remain volatile until the debate ends...

In electronic trading ahead of Thursday's market open, shares of Wellpoint Inc. added 16 cents to $53. UnitedhHealth Group Inc. lost 40 cents to $28, and Aetna Inc. added 25 cents to $29.50.

For health insurers and their shareholders, the uncertainty over reform has made for a roller coaster throughout the year, driving shares lower, then higher depending on which way the political wind blows in Washington. Stocks dove deeper than the broader market in early March, after Obama described reform as "a necessity we have to achieve." They have since mostly climbed as opposition grew in Congress to a proposed public health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iL3gtmzZDikqVxTUOlqRXhLNKNFAD9AKFESO0

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. The bans on the most disgusting of their business practices will certainly mean a drop in profits

Too bad! Blood money based on the deaths and bankruptcies of our feloow citizens.

[supernova]

2. Good.

Let them squirm as much as possible before their rightful demise.

[No Elephants]

11. What demise? The "reform" contemplates a huge payday for private health insurers.

[FreakinDJ]

3. I dumped my shares in Health Care Funds months ago

as a means to protest what they were doing to this country

and because I knew this was coming

[liberal N proud]

4. The health care industry has left Americans uncertain for how long?

Too long!

[Wounded Bear]

5. Why do stock prices have anything to do with this?

I know, I know, I'm wailing in the wind, and gale force winds to boot.

But I don't care if stock prices fall for HC and/or insurance companies. Frankly, I'd like to see them driven out of business so we can set up a real single payer system. Yep, I'm for socialized medicine.

So sue me. :P

[No Elephants]

10. Single payer is not socialized medicine. In socialized medicine, the government owns

the hospitals, clinics, health centers, etc., hires and fires the doctors, nurses, and other care providers, sets their salaries, pays the electric bill, buys the supplies, etc.,

[xchrom]

6. my heart weeps.

:rofl:

[bertman]

7. A momentary blip based on unfounded fears.

Nothing has been passed. Negotiations continue. Even if something is passed that requires some common sense rules for the insurance industry (won't happen) they still are going to get 30 MILLION new policy holders, including millions that will be paid for by the U.S. taxpayers and paid at insurance industry profitability rates. Remember all those MANDATORY insurance purchasers our President talked about last night?? Remember how he emphasized the miniscule number who will be able to participate in the public option??

Not to mention that nothing will be implemented for FOUR years, which means that we can look forward to many more months of sabotage and lies by those who stand to profit most during this newest bailout of private industry--and for an industry that didn't need a bailout in the first place.

[phantom power]

8. It's a start. The holy grail would be for them to be terrified.

[SandWalker1984]

9. Wall Street got the message loud and clear - United Health Care up substantially today

Wall Street heard what I heard last night -- the corporate health insurance industry is going to get a big boost in profit when all of the uninsured Americans ARE FORCED BY MANDATES to buy private insurance by our government.

Mandates - to buy private, corporate insurance because
the public option has been watered down into a possible, maybe, no government help or subsidies to get it up and running, only for people currently without insurance plan. WTF???

Nothing about capping or regulating what insurance companies can charge for premiums.

Subsidies to help you purchase private insurance but nothing for a public option - it has to pay it's own way. That tells you where Obama stands.

So the big greedy corporations get millions of new victims, competition will be DOA.

Better they never attempted reform than to pass crap like that.

I expected better from Obama.

I refuse to give up the fight for an affordable public Medicare-type option with access to everyone.

[SweetDreams]

12. Health Care

We need health care reform now. I can't believe we spent so much on the war, but can't afford health care:

http://tinyurl.com/peo3b2