"The Insurance Industry Profit Protection and Enhancement Act"
Posted on September 16th, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in Congress Watch
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That's the judgment of Senator Baucus's bill, which was released today [pdf], by Wendel Potter, former CIGNA health insurance executive turned whistleblower:
As I explained yesterday, Wendell is right in that judgment.
For further proof, look no further than the stock market:
Shares of health insurers rallied Wednesday after the Senate Finance Committee unveiled a health-care bill Wednesday morning that requires almost all Americans to have health insurance, but does not include a public option.
Shares of HealthNet Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hnt/quotes/nls/hnt (HNT 17.13, +0.61, +3.69%) advanced 3%, UnitedHealth Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!unh/quotes/nls/unh (UNH 28.73, +1.03, +3.72%) increased 2.7%, Humana Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hum/quotes/nls/hum (HUM 39.97, +1.19, +3.07%) added 2.6%, WellPoint Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!wlp/quotes/nls/wlp (WLP 53.98, +0.82, +1.54%) gained 1.7% and Aetna Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aet/quotes/nls/aet (AET 30.63, +0.66, +2.20%) rose 1.6%.
Investors have been eyeing the Senate bill as the next driver for managed care stocks, which have been volatile since the health-care reform debate heated up this summer. The $856 billion bill lays out a system of non-profit, non-government health-care cooperatives, which would compete with insurers, but not to the extent of a public option, analysts have said.
This bill is a bill for the insurance industry, not a bill for us. As Richard Kirsch said today, the Baucus bill is a failure:
The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford. The Baucus bill would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans - high-deductible insurance - without having to face competition from a public health insurer.
Under the Baucus bill, employers would have no responsibility to help pay for their workers’ coverage and would be given incentives to have workers pay more for barebones insurance. Americans who don’t get health benefits through work would still not be able to get good, affordable coverage.
We urge Senators on the Finance Committee to replace the Baucus plan with legislation that will do what the Senate HELP Committee and three House committees have done: guarantee that Americans have good health insurance that they can afford with the choice of a strong national public health insurance option.
It must be fixed.
If you are reading this I assume you are in agreement with what this web site espouses. This is not a health issue first, it is an economic issue. Supply and demand. The insurance companies are made out to be the pariahs in this situation and why not also hold the medical industry accountable but most importantly the consumer, we the public, accountable for not shopping for our health care in a prudent economic fashion. When was the last time you asked what the price of a service or drug was? Have you ever asked to negotiate the price? Pay cash? Would you walk into an electronics store and not ask what the price of a tv was and pay whatever price you told at the cash register? We are NOT good consumers of medical services. That is the root problem in all of this. Even many medical providers do not know the cost of services at the time they recommend them to you. Does it sound right that a provider does not even know the price of their own product or service? President Obama says we need " low premium, low deductible , unlimted coverage plans" Sounds great right? It's economically impossible. I'd also like to buy a $50,000 Cadillac for $20,000 and in fact, every American should be able to do so. How long do think Cadillac would be in business? We are talking about 'economic physics' here. Why do we understand that to build a bridge across a river we need proper plans to be drawn up because the rules of physics demand as much or gravity will soon triumph. But when it comes to what we would wish for with national health care, we completely throw out the principles of 'Economic physics' to design and build something that will 'collapse' economically. We've had 40 plus years to try and run a program called Medicare for less than 20% of the population. What makes us believe we can now run a program that is exponentially larger and have it succeed if Medicare will be the template for National health care and by all measures, Medicare will not last another decade.
We must also look at supply and demand in the system. One primary reason health care cost have been going up is that we have 80 million baby boomers accessing the medical system and a greater rate than they did 10 yrs ago. This will only continue to increase as they increase in age. Unfortunatly the medical deliver system is very 'inelastic' and we must wait years for new facilities to be built and doctors to be educated. Greater demand with a near constant supply dictates that prices should rise, as they have. If an additional 40 million individuals put demands on the medical system where do think prices will go? How about just simply getting in to see a doctor? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine what the outcome would be.
And lastly, if there are 40 million people uninsured in this country ( approx. half of those CHOOSE not to purchase it) , why are we changing a system that works for 87% of the population? Are we not a republic governed by majority rule?
Our founding fathers would be turning over in their collective graves knowing that our current government believes that the Constitution of this country, the very blueprint that makes us what we are today, has been co-opted and distorted to such a point as to make some believe it is the federal government's obligation to provide health coverage. God help us all.
I think that's the point. Health care right now doesn't work for the uninsured, but it doesn't work for the insured either.
Over 60% of bankruptcies in this country are due to medical costs. Over 80% of those bankruptcies occurred for people WITH insurance. The system is broken for everyone, and it must be fixed.
Jon,
You can't "shop" for health care products or services since the insurance companies dictate prices. As consumers we have no control over this. It's called the McCarren-Ferguson Act of 1945. It exempts insurance companies from federal anti-trust laws therefore the states are the ones in control of regulation. As a consumer, I have no control over price-setting, in fact, this exemption of anti-trust laws even allows for price fixing by insurance companies in states where it isn't against the law.
Our founding fathers aren't rolling over in their graves because the majority of people in this country are demanding decent and affordable health insurance, they are rolling over in their graves at how we've become a nation run by special interest groups and large corporations. I am sure the last thing they would've thought is how many senators and congressmen our money can buy.
-Margaret
Jon, there is more at play here than simply supply and demand. When was the last time you tried to buy health insurance on your own? With a pre-existing condition? As a powerless, self-employed individual? It's impossible to be a "good consumer" when the insurance companies have a monopoly and can charge you whatever they want to.
Give this a little more thought. Try to see it from the perspective of someone who would love to be able to CHOOSE to pay a reasonable amount of money for the peace of mind an affordable insurance policy would provide. Or, if that's too difficult, imagine what would happen if you had a heart attack, and lost your job. Voila - no insurance. No money. No chance to choose anything, except bankruptcy or death.
I sell Health Insurance as well as other types and I can tell you that the Health Insurance Industry is shattered and just like Humpty Dumpty all the politicians cannot fix it without a Public Option to keep the Insurers honest.
I personally sell and am covered by United Healthcare and received a call from a sales rep informing me that they had lowered rates and I should try to quote them more often so I quoted myself and my wife and sure enough I could save over $200 per month so I called the rep back and told him what I found and that I wanted to change mine and he said the only way I could do it was to cancel my coverage with them for at least 6 months and I would qualify for the new rates.
Now no matter how you slice it this is ridiculous and I can tell you story after story about people who have been turned down completely due to pre-existing conditions like a gentleman I had in my office who was 52 years old,works everyday,is not overweight,does not smoke,is not diabetic but because he had a single heart bypass in 1998 he was turned down flat by all 5 companies i called.
In addition if a reform package is passed without a public option we are going to see rates skyrocket like we have never seen before thus resulting in more uninsured human beings than we have ever seen before playing right into the hands of the Republican Party to use as a platform in future elections.
State Employee's,Federal Employee's, Military,Politicians,those with medicaid have Government provided health Insurance which is great while the rest of us including the unemployed,low income workers,many disabled etc… are left without and that is unacceptable.Even Prisoners have Government provided health Insurance.
I really do not care how much it costs and I do not care if these monopolistic Insurance Companies go bankrupt because they have brought it upon themselves with their billions of dollars in profits made by cherry picking only the youngest and healthiest clients.
It is unacceptable to send billions of dollars overseas to third world countries while millions here go without.
Max Bauckus should be ashamed to to stand before America and propose a plan that is only going to benefit Insurance Companies as proven by the rise in stock prices for health insurance companies and it took him months to do it!!
One last note,The constant talk about a Public Option covering Illegal Aliens is ridiculous and has anyone thought about what happens everyday if a illegal goes into an Emergency room today in need of care? They are treated just as if they have Insurance and it is subsidized by us because we are Americans and refuse to turn down those in need and if you do not agree then what would you do …leave them dying in the parking lot?
I think not because we are Americans and that caring for others is what has made this Country great.
We simply cannot miss this opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans.
Call your Senators and The White House and demand a working,viable,real public option for everyone before it is to late.