I guess when I say encourage, I mean (according to the CBO) the government plan will be more expensive, therefore encouraging people to buy from the private sector. Most people buy on price when benefits are the same.
Look. I know Im in the minority here (a conservative republican who supports a public option). BUT! Before we talk amongst ourselves there are a few basic questions that should be asked:
(try to wipe away any pre-existing thoughts or feelings on this)
Without necessarily using any particular country as an example, do you feel its possible for the United States to both lower its expenditure on healthcare and provide coverage for those who cant provide on their own? Do you feel if those two things are true, we should? If your answer is no, then theres no point in continuing the argument. I believe we can. Starting this venture isnt necessarily going to be pretty, nor is it going to be perfect; however, MY worst fears appear to be alleviated with this bill: the takeover of healthcare by the government. If there is language in the bill that disagrees with that, I would like to see it, and my support will wane. But everything I have read points that the private sector will still be protected.
I understand why it is your worst fear that the health insurance sector is removed. After years of record profits, while denying coverage, denying care, raising prices, and covering less people... they need to be treasured and saved from the government. Health insurances, and all corporations, are more important than the lives of American citizens. Profits and money are american.. not its people.
Matter of fact, insurance companies are far more efficient than foreign countries.. we pay more and get much less.
Very logical. Not insane.
Here are some sources for my claims-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoqpPwvUoP0
"Profits at 10 of the countrys largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent from 2000 to 2007, while consumers paid more for less coverage. One of the major reasons, according to a new study, is the growing lack of competition in the private health insurance industry that has led to near monopoly conditions in many markets."
http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/05/27/h...oar-as-industry-mergers-create-near-monopoly/
Take a look at a recent report "Insuring Health or Ensuring Profit?; A look at the Financial Gains of Washington's Health Insurers." According to the report, the big three carriers in Washington, Regence BlueShield, Premera Blue Cross and Group Health Cooperative saw profits increase from $11 million in 2002 to $243 million in 2003 and $431 million in 2006. Their cash surplus went from $833 million in 2002 to $2.2 billion (with a "B") in 2006. Interestingly enough they did it while covering less people. Over 2.37 million people were covered by the three in 2002 compared to 1.9 million in 2006.
http://vancouver.injuryboard.com/mi...h-insurance-profits-soar.aspx?googleid=230780
Potter, who spent 15 years at CIGNA, said health plans have a financial incentive to cancel the policies of their most costly members and have implemented strategies to do so. They look carefully to see if a sick policyholder may have omitted a minor illness, a pre-existing condition, when applying for coverage, and then they use that as justification to cancel the policy, he testified. And canceling policies for even a small number of such members can have a big effect on the bottom line, he added. Where is the logic and the humanity of having pre-existing conditions not covered in our society? Potter asked. He noted that his testimony wasnt aimed at CIGNA specifically, but rather at an industry that he said is taking this country in the wrong direction.
http://www.aishealth.com/Bnow/hbd070909.html
""They confuse their customers and dump the sick all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors," said Wendell Potter, who retired as CIGNA's vice president of corporate communications last year. He spent nearly 15 years at the company and four years at Humana."
"Potter, for instance, recalled a trip on a corporate jet from Philadelphia, where CIGNA is headquartered, to Connecticut, where the company's health insurance business is based in Bloomfield. During the flight, he was served lunch on gold-rimmed china with a gold-plated knife and fork.
"I realized for the first time that someone's insurance premiums were paying for me to travel in such luxury," he said on his blog."
"He condemned insurers' efforts to get rid of unprofitable customers, sell policies that can mislead consumers and offer very limited coverage, and pay out as small a portion of premiums as possible for claims in order to boost profits and please Wall Street."
"Potter described in written testimony how insurers use "purging" unrealistic rate increases to drive off less profitable employers. Citing a USA Today report, he recalled how CIGNA boosted rates in 2006 for the Entertainment Industry Group Insurance Trust so much that for some family plans, premiums would have topped $44,000 a year."
"CIGNA, responding to Potter's testimony, said Wednesday, "Although we respect that there are different opinions on the solutions, we strongly disagree with the suggestion that, motivated by profits, the insurance industry has deliberately attempted to confuse or unfairly treat covered individuals.""
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-cigna-potter.artjun25,0,4107201.story
"Among the other testimony heard by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation was that of Robin Beaton. It reflected some of the insurance company tactics condemned by Potter.
It was a nightmare scenario. The day before she was scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy for invasive breast cancer, Robin Beaton's health insurance company informed her that she was "red flagged" and they wouldn't pay for her surgery. The hospital wanted a $30,000 deposit before they would move forward. Beaton had no choice but to forgo the life-saving surgery.
Beaton had dutifully signed up for individual insurance when she retired from nursing to start a small business. She had never missed a payment, but that didn't matter. Blue Cross cited two earlier, unrelated conditions that she hadn't reported to them when signing up acne and a fast beating heart and rescinded her policy.
Beaton pleaded with the company and had her doctors write letters on her behalf to no avail. It was not until Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) personally called Blue Cross that her policy was reinstated and she could undergo surgery. In that year, Beaton's tumor doubled in size, leading to further complications necessitating the removal of her lymph glands as well."
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/profile.html
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