Okay, so after wooing her for months, the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee finally got Republican Olympia Snowe to sign onto the Baucus Health Reform Bill. The Maine moderate and lone GOP member to vote with the thirteen Democrats helped the historic measure pass 14-9 last Tuesday. But Snowe said, “my vote today is my vote today,” implying the flimsy “bi-partisan” romance may be short lived. Snowe may still vote NO the final version of the bill which will be a conferenced concoction combining both the restrained Baucus Bill and the more progressive H.E.L.P.( Health, Education, Labor & Pension) Committee Bill which includes a public option, something Snowe–despite growing support in her home state–has vowed to vote against.
Let’s be clear: I’m not suggesting the Baucus Bill doesn’t contain important, positive changes including putting the kibosh on pre-existing conditions, penalizing companies for dropping coverage once a person gets sick and subsidies for low-income earners. But it doesn’t go far enough to ensure affordable, quality care for all Americans.
Without a public option it seems unlikely to see true reform. Not that we needed further evidence of the unmitigated greed that pervades the health insurance companies, but they gave it to us anyway last Monday with the release of that self-serving and blatantly fraudulent report. Released as a last ditch effort to sway Blue Dog Dems like Lincoln, Nelson and Conrad from voting for the reform, all it did was flash a neon light on their cynical corrupt motivations. The report, issued by AHIP(American Health Insurance Plans) threatened passage of the bill would ensure premiums would skyrocket through the stratosphere at an alarmingly faster rate than the disastrous status quo.
Seems like an odd claim considering the Baucus Bill contains mandates for most Americans to purchase coverage, thus handing the insurance industry 30-44 million new hostages… er customers. So what’s AHIP’s big gripe? They claim the penalties affixed to those who choose not to buy ( or can’t afford) coverage are not grievous enough, therefore most people wouldn’t buy insurance until they get sick. And besides, the penalties don’t off-set the new taxes the companies will face.
Pass the hat. The health insurance industry’s profits continue to soar at a rate matched only by those of the oil companies. Meanwhile premiums rise and rise.
So was anyone really shocked when PriceWaterhouse Coopers, the firm AHIP engaged to conduct an analysis of the cost effectiveness of the proposed reform plan, outed its own report as skewed? The firm was hired, apparently, to evaluate only a PORTION of the bill. In a statement PwC said: “The reform packages under consideration have other provisions that we have not included in this analysis. We have not estimated the impact of the new subsidies on the net insurance costs to households. Also, if other provisions in health care are successful in lowering costs over the long term, those improvements would offset some of the impacts we have estimated.”
Clearly–despite its president Karen Ignani’s public vow to President Obama to partner with the White House and Congress to sweep real reform into reality–AHIP cannot be trusted. Frankly, the White House’s open door policy to behind-closed-door meetings with Ignani and other health insurance honchos over the last several months, while having nary a meeting with industry whistle blowers like Wendell Potter confounds me. Potter, a former Cigna VP who has testified before Congress and recently made the cable TV talk show rounds, is a harsh critic of his former industry. “If reform doesn’t include a robust public option,” he said , ” the only beneficiaries of the reform will be the health insurance companies.”
A backlash of AHIP’s crass and miscalculated PR smear campaign may be a rejuvenated push for a public option. Sen. Jay Rockefeller(D-W.VA), a staunch supporter of the public option said on Tuesday’s edition of The Ed Show on MSNBC, ” When insurance companies turned their back on this bill, they gave us a gift. They got Democrats angry.” With a smile he urged host Ed Schultz and his audience to ” keep the faith… we will get a public option.”
I’m not so sure it’s in the bag. But progressive groups like MoveOn.org and a slew of unions have stepped up the pressure with advertising and letter-writing campaigns. MoveOn’s ad features Potter.
Still, I have a queasy feeling I’ll continue to pay more and more for less and less quality coverage. It’s enough to crawl into bed–keeping in mind that old adage, ” an apple a day keeps the doctor away”–with a bushel of Honey Crisps and a giant jug of Purell for good measure. Think I’ll call my congressmen first.
The 2012 Presidential Election is fast approaching
The GOP race is now a field of 4 with only Romney, Gingrich, Paul, & Santorum still standing. Who will be the next candidate to exit the race & who will emerge as the eminent GOP nominee?
Follow us on Twitter & join our 2012 election FaceBook page for updates & new blog articles.
Contact us if you are passionate about politics & want to blog with us.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Leave it to a liberal to bring ALL the facts out about the latest developments on the health care bill. Funny now that the health insurance industry has dropped trou and shown its true opinion on health care reform, the conservatives on this site haven’t said a word.
But watch out about MOVEOn… we all know that they are nothing but a group of propaganda hounds with an agenda against the best interest of the American people, unlike Freedomworks (whose founder Dick Armey was a lobbiest until August for the health insurance companies and who sued to keep his public government health care program) and the 912 project (which is meant to give more viewers and listeners, and therefore more money, into the pockets of its founder, Glenn Beck). They’re the real deal who stand for and look out for the interests of the American public…LOL
I bet that pesky whistle blower will become the new health care czar, since I’m sure Obama’s people are paying him anyway…LOL