Insurance Industry Emerges As White House Public Enemy Number One

[babylonsister]

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/uncategorized/insurance-industry-emerges-as-white-house-public-enemy-number-one/

Posted at 10/14/2009, 07:30 AM EST
Insurance Industry Emerges As White House Public Enemy Number One


The other big health care story right now — in addition to the bill yesterday — is the sudden emergence of the insurance industry as a full-fledged reform opponent and all-around useful foil, and the White House is rapidly turning the battleship in the industry’s direction.

Obama’s political operation, Organizing for America, has blasted an email to its massive list targeting the industry as reform public enemy number one. It seizes on that widely-criticized “report” paid for by America’s Health Care Plans finding that reform would hike premiums, which handed reform proponents a big opening to cast the industry as a bad-faith actor intent on torpedoing reform to protect profits.

“It’s becoming clear that the insurance companies will do whatever it takes to stop progress,” reads the email from OFA chief Mitch Stewart, adding that the industry “even commissioned their own slanted analysis of the Finance Committee’s legislation in an effort to defeat it.”

“Now that all five congressional committees have passed reform legislation, we’re sure to see attacks that are even more extreme,” the email continues.

Meanwhile, the White House is openly casting the industry as reform’s leading foe:

“The insurance industry has decided to lead the charge against health reform, and everyone recognizes their motives: profits,” said White House deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “We are going to make sure they can’t sink this effort at the last minute.”

Pfeiffer castigated the industry for releasing a report Monday that concluded that the finance panel’s bill would increase costs for consumers. “They made themselves a very good foil,” he said.

And Senator Chuck Schumer will call today for Dems to push to revoke the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemption.

The emergence of the industry as full-fledged villain has its useful side: It could rally the Dem base behind the White House and Dem leaders at a time of serious, lingering Dem divisions over various facets of reform, such as the public option. The opening of this new front adds a fascinating new subplot as the health care wars enter the final stretch.

[liberal N proud]

1. That should be the insurance industry is public enemy number one

They are killing people, literally.

[Uncle Joe]

16. And making megabucks for doing it. n/t

[msongs]

2. meanwhile President Olympia Snowe has effectively hijacked the process thanks to the big O nt

[babylonsister]

3. Link? What did she do wrt the insurance industry?

Oh, nevermind. Must be another hit and run from you.

:hi:

[rvablue]

6. How exactly has President Obama assisted in this?

C'mon. You tossed it out. Explain yourself. Rationally.

Last time I checked, there were three separate branches of government. How exactly has President Obama given Olympia Snowe some type of carte blanche to do what she is doing?

[Clio the Leo]

9. So why would I want to buy a pillowcase that bore the likeness...

... of someone who was helping an unelected despot hijack health care reform?

[Cha]

15. Another drive by ugly insult from you and nothing EVER

to back it up..just what's going on in that negative head.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. A couple of weeks back the President was loudly insisting

that the Insurance Industry deserves their profits. His word. Deserve. Has he retracted that as yet, or is this just another stance among stances? I mean, people who think it is just 'becoming clear' that Big Insurance is against reform are not bright people. It has been clear to the people for years on end. Administration announces it is becoming clear that water is wet. Film at 11.

[rvablue]

7. Can you provide a link to what you are attributing to President Obama in your comment

that he said the "insurance companies deserve their profits."

Thanks. I haven't seen nor heard that and I'd like to take a firsthand look for myself.

[dflprincess]

14. I can't find where he ever said they "deserve their profits" but, in his speech to Congress, he did

say "They provide a legitimate service" :wtf:

Of course, he didn't say what legitimate service that is. As far as I can tell all they do is drive up costs. Perhaps he was thinking of the campaign "contributions" they make.

In the same paragraph of that speech he also repeated his tired line about "keeping them honest". As always, I am forced to ask why, when he admits the insurance companies are dishonest, is he so determined to protect them?


text of speech at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/obama-health-care-speech_n_281265.html

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

8. And that they give good jobs to our friends and neighbors

[Clio the Leo]

10. So is he a socialist or not?

For crying out loud .... the wingnuts and the ...... whatever we call ours .... really need to hold a summit and figure it out.

He's a Feudal-Socialist!! There ya go! Somebody fire up the Photoshop and let's see what kind of cool pic we can come up with.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. Jesus, what a stupid argument. The wingnuts are WRONG

The fact that wingnuts are wrong does not require people who are not complete idiots to conform to your brainless boosterism.

Your though process has never been more transparent: You choose to group people based on whether they criticize Obama. Not by their world-view or motives, but by their conformity to some personal emotional issue of yours.

You think of millions of life-long progressives and neo-nazis as some "they."

Sorry to tee off on you in particular... you're better than some of the other thoughtless, snarky cheerleaders.

[Clio the Leo]

12. While I appreciate the flattery, I'm not the Messiah....

.... and when those in OUR party .... the party that is SUPPOSED to the one with the big brains .... start throwing up out of left field (pardon the pun) arguments claiming that Barack Obama is apparently involved in a grand scheme to protect the insurance industry by devoting the second half of his first year in office to reforming it .... that doesn't even make any sense.

Was the WH's efforts at refuting the AHIP report just an attempt to throw us off?

[Clio the Leo]

13. ... and it matters not whether you like me ......

..... as my dance card is pretty full.

But when you COMPLETELY misrepresent what the President said, THAT matters.

If someone is upset with the President because he doesn't favor single-payer, that's their prerogative. If they think he's not publicly advocating a public option to their liking, that's fine. But to take what he said, misquote it and make it mean something it didn't .... THAT is BS. I dont put up with it from the right and I CERTAINLY am not going to put up with it from my OWN people.

I STILL would love to hear SOME rational explanation as to why anyone thinks that Barack Obama is more interested in protecting the interests of the insurance companies than the people they are supposed to serve. Esp in light of comments like...

So let me set the record straight here. My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition. That's how the market works. (Applause.) Unfortunately, in 34 states, 75 percent of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company. And without competition, the price of insurance goes up and quality goes down. And it makes it easier for insurance companies to treat their customers badly -- by cherry-picking the healthiest individuals and trying to drop the sickest, by overcharging small businesses who have no leverage, and by jacking up rates

And what's funny is that while BlueNorthWest misquoted the President, the passage I BELIEVE he is referring to...

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors.

... which is the remark you referred to. But the very NEXT thing he said was...

I just want to hold them accountable. And the insurance reforms that I've already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange.

Did you all go to the kitchen when he said that, or what?

The man's mother DIED fighting the insurance companies. To insist that he is now trying to protect their interests over those of the very people who, like her, are suffering is inaccurate at best and, at the worst, heartless. You are (I presume) Democrats .... that is NOT how we roll.

(All excerpts taken from)
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/obama-health-care-speech_n_281265.html

[izquierdista]

5. The damage they do

A child molester can be put away for decades, while the child grows up and gets on with his/her life.
An insurance company will see its profits grow, while many children won't grow up at all.
Something is wrong with this picture.