Hundreds Of Former Lawmakers And Congressional Staffers Hired To Lobby On Health Care

Washington Post:

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[WWWexler]

"The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records."

In other words, they are taking $1.4 million dollars a day of YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS and using them to fight against a reform plan that would protect you from being gouged by insurance companies.

Time to call your insurance company customer service (the number is on the card) and demand that they do not use any of your premium money for political lobbying.

-Wexler

[Yurdelite]

Exactly. If they have that much money to waste every day, they need to be run out of business or put in check. The greed in this country is mind bending.

[SinfullySublime]

Good point Wex except, those who have the gold make the rules. As long as we keep giving them our gold, they won't be motivated to attend to our itty bitty needs.

My dad used to tell me that, out of every $7 taken in premiums, they'd pay $1 out on claims -- I never could confirm this exact stat but, I suspect the ratio is worse now. Greedy Bleeps! Having a license to sell insurance is like having a license to steal.

[WWWexler]

I have never heard the 1 to 7 numbers, but somehow I'm not surprised.

Otherwise, how would our Senator Grassley be able to afford to stay in Congress all these years?

[OurKoan]

No doubt about it....we have the best legislative branch of government that money can buy.

[poco767c]

Can anyone explain to me how these people are working for the interest of Americans?

They are asking to government to NOT allow poor people to access better healthcare.

[freddiefreeloader]

I wonder how much money private insurance companies actually spend on healthcare and how much is reinvested and how much is profit.? 100 % of what the Goverment will charge will go for healthcare.

[anothervoice2]

Wow! On an annualized basis, this lobbying amounts to over $1M per American citizen. That would probably buy a whole lot of health care (health care not health insurance). This is depressing.

[anothervoice2]

Sorry that was $1 per citizen. The HP page jumps around a lot.
$365M can buy a whole lot of health care.

[naschkatze]

The only thing I find encouraging is all the anger here. We are going to come to a point where we all say that we are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore.

[MaxBob]

Go figure. Special Interest and Lobbyist throwing around money to influence and outright BUY votes. whodathunkit? HEH.

[Pyfagorus]

Since the vote-buying is in favor of healthcare non-reform on behalf of insurance and hospital corporations, I don't understand why you're not thrilled about it.

[keepemhonest]

$1.4 Million dollars per day being spent to STOP the progress of healthcare for 46 million Americans.

[MaxBob]

20M of whom don't want it. Just ask the 15M people that can't afford it if they want FREE healthcare. That's reason enough to give it to them. 200M have it. Isn't that a MAJORITY?

[Kassandra]

Not for long, bubba, we keep losing jobs...... You people just amaze me. You don't want anything for your tax dollars at all, do you? 'Cept maybe Wars?

[k6007]

You're right only 70+% of americans want a public option.
20mil(A number you pulled straight from your bum, no doubt) should definitely overrule the majority, no?


http://washingtonindependent.com/48140/gop-poll-yes-people-want-a-public-option

[hark]

That's right, give or take a million. These are the freeloaders, the ones who get the care when they need it for serious illness, but never pay a dime for it. Time to make coverage mandatory. Their contributions will help lower costs.

And what's this about a majority? Sounds like you are saying anytime a majority have something there's no problem. Like civil rights? Forget the gays then? Forget the poor? Hey, let's forget the sick, then.

[OurKoan]

Of your "200 M", how many are on Medicare, Medicaid, CHP, etc? (i.e. already on some type of government plan). How many have insurance through the government as employees, elected officials, military, etc.? And why does every single industrialized country that has nationalized health care spend less per capita than we do, and has a lower infant mortality rate?

[keepemhonest]

Max,

HA HA HA HA HA ... did you get paid to post that comment?

[keepemhonest]

$1.4 Million dollars per day being spent to STOP the progress of healthcare for 46 million Americans.

.... wtf!

[freddiefreeloader]

The more money private insurance companies spend on lobbists, the more their going to have to charge Americans for their healthcare insurance policys. Private insurance is a for profit organazation not like the Goverment.

[Kassandra]

Good point

[rodeman]

That's the kicker freddie, we pay for lobbying against our own best interests. And we thought we'd get health care reform with a public option?

"Dream a dream with me".......­..........­..........­..

[Yurdelite]

Yeah and the more they will deny your claims...T­he list keeps getting longer and longer...

[quindy]

It is apparent that health insurance companies are least interested in providing coverage and only interested in earning loads of money, because they have loads to spend on lobbying. This money will not be there when claims come in and are denied. This is nothing but criminal in and I hope that our president shows some b***s in this critical times.

ALL LOBBYING SHOULD BE OUTLAWED - NOW!

[poco767c]

No lobbying should not be outlawed, bribery should be called what it is however.

A consumer rights group talking to their senator is lobbying and is right.
Medical insurance companies also have the right to seek representation.

What this is, is not lobbying, this is corruption and bribery.
Money does not equal speech, SCOTUS was wrong.

[MaxBob]

Public Options seem to be D O A. Business mandates and penalties seem to be D O A. And paying for it seems to be a BIG sticking point. The House gave away most of the revenue generation of the Cap and Tax and it was PresBO's goal to use some of this to help pay for Healthcare. What to do, what to do.......

[timberdoodle]

If a public option includes two rules it will wipe out all the other health insurers.

The rules would be:
1........N­o one can be denied payment for any medical treatment for any reason.
2........N­o one can be denied medical insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Even people who currently feel they have good insurance coverage now are susceptible to claim denials and would be morons to keep their current insurance over a public option that included the above two rules.

The insurance companies make their money through these two types of denials but the GOP don't seem to understand or care about this fact.

[hark]

Rule #1 is ridiculous. Medical treatment has to serve a legitimate purpose. Doesn't matter whether you are talking private or public plans.

One of the problems with soaring health care costs in America is that we use too much and get little or nothing in return. We overuse the system for a number of reasons, including defensive medicine.

[melodramy]

1.... No one can be denied payment for any medical treatment deemed necessary by one's doctor, for any reason.

There, fixed it.

[Mahi Joe]

Lobbyists = pi.mps

Politicians who take money and gifts from Lobbyists = wh.ores

[jbrantow]

Maybe it's time for HBO to start a new show based on the Sopranos..­.."Washing­ton DC Sopranos"

[lastams]

This is truly the watershed moment in the Obama presidency.
Either he is going to stand with the American people or back down to special interests.
When it came to economic reform he gave us Geithner and Summers and donations to the IMF.
If he yields to some trumped up 'compromise " that gives us some sort of ineffective co-opted public pretense that will subsidize the insurance companies and help to destroy the American economy, then
we have truly made a mistake believing in his rhetoric.
Bernie Sanders has stated that now that the Democrats have a sixty seat majority, there is no reason they can reasonably vote against closure on a bill providing a public healthcare option.
From there the bill can be amended, debated, and voted up or down, but at least the American people deserve this much; To see where our Senators stand when it comes to serving our best interests.

[frappe]

If those "moderate" senators do not AT LEAST allow a vote to proceed to the senate floor by providing the Democratic majority with the 60 votes needed to stop what will be a guaranteed attempt of a republican filibuster, then they should be tarred and feathered in such a humiliating and politically devastating way as to effectively put an irreversible end to their political careers while also rendering them completely useless as a potential tool of the K St. lobbyist community, ending any chance of them earning that big carrot that the lobbyist industry holds in front of our congressional reps noses -- that six- or seven figure income at the end of their political careers.

[Kassandra]

They can and should also use reconcilia­tion....be­cause I'll bet my bottom dollar which is close to teh surface, believe me, that any bill that comes out of this Senate is going ot NEED to be reconsidered in 5 years or so.
There's yo' TRIGGER, Ms. Collins.