It’s War… Between Health Insurance Companies and Congress
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on October 16, 2009
Gauntlet tossed, war is on…
From My Way News:
Dems scramble after warning from health insurers
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
October 12, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) – Insurance companies aren’t playing nice any more. Their dire message that health care legislation will drive up premiums for people who already have coverage comes as a warning shot at a crucial point in the debate, and threatens President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
Democrats and their allies scrambled on Monday to knock down a new industry-funded study forecasting that Senate legislation, over time, will add thousands of dollars to the cost of a typical policy. “Distorted and flawed,” said White House spokeswoman Linda Douglass. “Fundamentally dishonest,” said AARP’s senior policy strategist, John Rother. “A hatchet job,” said a spokesman for Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
But the health insurance industry’s top lobbyist in Washington stood her ground. In a call with reporters, Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, pointedly refused to rule out attack ads on TV featuring the study, though she said she believed the industry’s concerns could be amicably addressed.
At the heart of the industry’s complaint is a decision by lawmakers to weaken the requirement that millions more Americans get coverage. Since the legislation would ban insurance companies from denying coverage on account of poor health, many people will wait to sign up until they get sick, the industry says. And that will drive up costs for everybody else.
Insurers are now raising possibilities such as higher premiums for people who postpone getting coverage, or waiting periods for those who ignore a proposed government requirement to get insurance and later have a change of heart.
The drama threatened to overshadow Tuesday’s scheduled vote by the Senate Finance Committee on a 10-year, $829-billion plan that Baucus has touted as the sensible solution to America’s problems of high medical costs and too many uninsured.
The Baucus bill is still expected to win Finance Committee approval. The insurance industry is trying to influence what happens beyond the vote, when legislation goes to the floor of the House and Senate, and, if passed, to a conference committee that would reconcile differences in the bills.
It’s at that final stage where many expect the real deal will be cut.
“We’ve got ourselves a real health care shooting war now,” said Robert Laszewski, a former health insurance executive turned consultant. “The industry has come to the conclusion that the way things are going in Congress, we’ll have a … formula that will be disastrous for their business, so they can’t stand on the sidelines any longer.”
From FT.com:
Health insurance lobby attacks reforms
By Edward Luce
October 12, 2009The White House and the health insurance industry on Monday descended into open conflict on the eve of a critical Senate vote that could determine the fortunes of Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plans.
Supporters of President Obama accused the health insurance industry of attempted “sabotage” after it issued a report by PwC, which estimated that premiums would rise much faster under the proposed reforms than they would have done otherwise.
The 26-page report marked an abrupt end to the unlikely alliance between Mr Obama and America’s Health Insurance Plans – the main industry lobby group, which has spent about $100m on advertising to support the reforms.
The report estimates that premiums for the average household would rise to $17,200 a year by 2013 under the proposals compared with $15,500 without the reforms. Today’s average annual premium is $12,300.
Valuable video: “War on Senior Citizens”: Mark Levin Interviews Dr. Betsy McCaughey on ObamaCare Details
Related:
James C. Capretta, National Review Online: The Baucus Death Spiral
Barry Goldwater Jr., American Spectator: Health Care Amtrak-Style
Michelle Malkin: Shhhh: Sneaky Dems create Obamacare reconciliation loophole and Top 10 health care questions for President Obama and Hands off my health care. Teeth off my hands.
Quin Hillyer, American Spectator: Not Abiding Obama
Riehl World View: Feds Use Intimidation To Silence Critics On Health Care Reform
Just Americans Making Ethical Statements Weblog: Fundamental Right…to Favor or Oppose
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Job Killers for Health Care Reform and Can You Imagine If Republicans Handed Out White Coats and Census Adds Question About Health Insurance
Moonbat Patrol: Obamacare to increase cost, Who’s Benefiting?
The Lonely Conservative: Another Phony Obama Photo Op
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Gov. Pawlenty’s Sound Argument about Health Care Reform: Need to Focus on What Drives Up Health Care Costs and Death in the NHS Lane: Terminally Ill People Are Erroneously Sentenced to Die Early by “Death Panels” in UK and Dunce Award to… Illinois Democrat Sen. Durbin: “Blacklists” Radio Station for Announcing He Would Be in State to Discuss ObamaCare and “Something Terrible Is Happening”… We Don’t Listen Enough to Ignorant, Overpaid Celebrities on Government-Run Health Care (video) and Astro-Turfing at the White House: Invitation-Only “Doctors for Obama” Organization Show Faked on WH Lawn
Ztower: Axelrod video all but confirms Obama not interested in quick, easy and cost-effective solutions to health care.
Philip Klein, American Spectator: Baucus’s Accounting Trick
American Glob: Pawlenty Says Baucus Bill is a Tax & Spend Bill
Track-A-’Crat: Dick Durbin Killed the Radio Star
BBC News: ‘Basic care’ lacking in hospitals and Fear over NHS compensation scale and Prison food ‘beats NHS hospitals’ and Hospital food waste is almost £1m
Telegraph: Daughter claims father wrongly placed on controversial NHS end of life scheme and ‘Cruel and neglectful’ care of one million NHS patients exposed and Sufferers pull out teeth due to lack of dentists and Dying patients and Number of NHS patients given wrong medicine doubles
Track-A-’Crat: Another Health Care Victim
HillBuzz: It’s her again…on Facebook
VotingFemale Speaks!: Sarah Palin Calls Out Obama; Where’s the Tort Reform, Socialist? and Obama-Pelosi Declare WAR; Demonizing Health Industry; Warning, Socialist Demons At Work and ObamaCare will imprison you if you do not obey
The Western Experience: British health care at its best!
MensNewsDaily: The Real Cost Of Health Care In France
Irish Election: The next healthcare scandal?
The Weekly Standard: Choosy Moms Don’t Choose Socialized Medicine
Wellsy’s World: Canadian health system “not sustainable,” looking to privatize
Are you Freaking Stupid?: Healthcare Industry Adds 544,000 Jobs During Recession, Will Media Notice? | NewsBusters.org
Tiger Hawk: Canadian brain surgery
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