Health Care Bill's Winners And Losers: Drug Makers To Benefit, Insurers Brace For Hit

Wall Street Journal:

The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies -- especially those that cater to the individual market -- look like they are in for a tougher time.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[Elbrando]

Save medicare billions let them negotiate the way the Vet Admin. can. They get more customers and we can save money. During a time when everyone is asked to make sacrifices this seems like an equitable compromise.

[drricklippin]

IF WE GET THIS RIGHT???

The long overdue winners will be- (SHOULD BE)-

THE AVERAGE MIDDLE AND WORKING CLASS AMERICAN CITIZEN

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

[goodnews7]

Medicare Money Mania - Part 4 - Could Reform Work?
In the past couple of days we’ve looked at how Medicare receives and spends its money and some of the many proposals for changes to the system. Today we’re going to summarize the ideas that are currently on the table and their potential effect. Remember that the annual Medicare budget will start showing at a loss in 2010 and is projected to result in a $72 billion deficit in 2016. The Medicare trust funds won’t be depleted until around 2019 or 2020, but we need to act now to avoid a meltdown. [...]
http://silverbuzzcafe.com/?p=3832

[kurtvb]

Without a STRONG public option, how is this legislation going to help? Providing tax credits means that you pay the full price for the insurance (which you couldn't afford to start with), then have to wait until sometime after you file your taxes to get any money back. How does that help? People need help with the actual bill when it is due, not months later.

Obama struck a deal with Pharma but nothing in it say that the government can negotiate prices for Medicare or a public option plan. Health care will be a boondoggle, with insurance companies, Pharma, hospital corporations continuing getting rich. People and health care workers will bear the brunt of this legislation. It will take another 40 years before we see a meaningful attempt to fix this new mess Congress and the lobbyist will leave us with.

[respected]

Drug industry still helping those on the right.

GOP's Boehner raises money -- in style
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...

[Tiger99]

January 08, 2008-Nashua, New Hampshire we can tell the drug and insurance industry that while they’ll get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair. Not this time.

I guess there is no reason to mention Presidents Obama's first major accomlishment as President was to "turncoat" with his private deal with Big Pharma...

[LHoney]

You know, I used to be excited about all of this. I thought now that we have a dem majority things might get better. Instead, now I'm thinking this will be the last winter my family can stay in our house. We already can't afford our health insurance and I just know it's going to go up again (like it does every year) along with groceries, gas for heat, electricity, etc. We are stretched to the limit and there's nothing left to cut. I don't care if we get a public option or not, it won't even be available to 90% of Americans anyway and none of these changes will be in place before 2014.

[aflyinyoursoup]

"The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies -- especially those that cater to the individual market -- look like they are in for a tougher time."

I am convinced that whatever bill ultimately passes over Obama's desk will be nothing less than Corporate Welfare. Single Payer is the only Honest resolution to this aspect of "The Raping of the American Proletariat" and the so-called "Public Option" is an anemic alternative.
However, if the above analysis is correct, at least there will be a modicum of "just dessert" in the mix.
The so-called "Health Care Insurance Industry" adds absolutely no value to the equation. In fact it is nothing less than a totally unnecessary wealth vacuum and a perfect example of the "Death Panels" with which the mindless neocon hoards have been taught to demagogue this issue.

[unch]

in this country, people always loose.

[aflyinyoursoup]

Only those who are not well connected to the Corporate Power Structure...
That means the vast majority of us...