HealthCareForAmericaNow

The health insurance industry's strategy is clear. They want to blur the lines between those of us who want real health care reform - reform that will guarantee you quality, affordable health care - and those that want to leave you alone in the "free market."

Today, the health insurance industry front group America's Health Insurance Plans launched a new website laying out their plan for health care "reform." It clearly reveals their cynical strategy to blur the health care issue.

Now, this blurring strategy is typical. Health care reform needs to happen, and 82% of Americans agree. When conservatives find themselves on the wrong side of popular issues, they blur the lines. It's happened with Iraq, ethics reform, and the environment, and it's happening here.

To be clear, AHIP's plan has nothing to do with reform, and could hardly be considered moderate. If you actually take a look at what they are proposing, you'll find the truth. Here's their plan:

• Improve SCHIP to cover all uninsured children from low-income families
• Create a new tax-free health care account that can be used to pay for any type of health care coverage
• Expand Medicaid to cover all uninsured adults whose incomes are below the federal poverty level
• Establish a health tax credit for working families
• Create a new incentive grant program to assist states in expanding access

It's almost to easy to take down this plan as real reform. It has all the hallmarks of a classic conservative health care proposal, a continuation and expansion of proposals that have failed us for so long. Point by point:

• A focus on expanding current government programs allows private insurance companies to keep customers that make them money and drop the liabilities onto government rolls. It's not fair.
• More health savings accounts, which are scams
• Expand Medicaid, see point one
• A focus on tax credits, which don't work for working families
• Expanding access, which wouldn't do anything to solve problems of cost or affordability if insurance companies can still cherry-pick the customers that make them money

That's not where AHIP's blurring strategy lies. Their plan is radically conservative, designed to expand the privatization of our health care system and allow more insurance company profits while giving government all the risk. It's simply a plan to make more money, not to improve America's health.

AHIP's blurring strategy lies in their words. So far, AHIP hasn't gone after "big government health care" or "socialized medicine" like they usually do - though rest assured, I believe those familiar lies are coming. Instead, they have adopted the language of those who are for real health care reform, groups like Health Care for America Now and pretty much everyone else working on this issue.

AHIP's Campaign for an American Solution has as its tagline, "Affordable, high quality health care for every American." That's pretty similar to our tagline of, "Quality, affordable health care for all." And AHIP's new messaging, exemplified by their new website, is chock full of similar language. AHIP is suddenly all about "reform." They want to give "access" to the uninsured. (Notice they don't say they want to cover the uninsured, just give them access. Big difference.) The website is pitched to look like AHIP is out in front of health care reform, that they understand the crisis.

It's a big lie. They just want to make more money. But you wouldn't know that unless you knew something about health care policy. Unfortunately, most folks don't.

That's why we're here. Health Care for America Now will be on AHIP's case until we pass real health care reform. We'll make sure to sift through their pretty language to get down to the greedy core. Please spread the word: AHIP doesn't want reform - they're lying when they say they do.