In the months after President Obama's inauguration, he and other administration officials held more than two dozen secret meetings with top insurers and the major pharmaceutical groups. He met with registered lobbyist Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, the major private insurer's industry group, on March 5, 6 and 11, May 11 and June 30.
The meeting with AHIP and the other industry bigwigs was followed by a much public and much ballyhooed pledge by the private insurers and the pharmaceuticals to plow tens of millions of dollars into an ad and PR blitz to back Obama's health care reform plan. They solemnly and very publicly assured that they'd work closely with Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and his five other cohorts on the Committee to not be the hardheaded obstructionists they'd been for the past six decades to getting health care reform passed. Obama bought their pledge, back patted them for their spirit of cooperation, and publicly hailed them for promising to break down the final barrier, namely themselves, to providing affordable health care to all Americans.
The insurers hustled, conned and lied to Obama. They cynically played upon his political naiveté about them. Worse, they didn't even try to mask their play of him. AHIP brazenly fired off to the press a study it commissioned that claims that Obama's health care reform plan will hike the cost of insurance for families by thousands. The insurers insist that private employers will get hit even harder with the increased fees, taxes, and add-on costs in the reform plan. They swear that will cause many employers to reduce or even eliminate coverage for their employees. The insurers doubled down on their play of Obama by threatening to spend a fortune on an ad campaign to kill his plan.
The worst part of the insurers con game is that they had already squeezed a guaranteed profit bonanza out of the White House and the Senate Finance Committee--no public option, government enforced mandates complete with penalties, taxpayer subsidies of the poor and middle class uninsured, forced employer mandated plans, and best of all absolutely no meaningful government hammer over them to make sure that they don't raise prices or figure out ways to dump those who private insurers label "high risk" or less charitably, "undesirables" at the first chance they get. Those are the millions who suffer chronic and major diseases--cancer, diabetes, asthma and heart disease. The overwhelming majority of them are blacks and Latinos and the poor.
Covering them was supposed to be the reason that Obama and congress battled for reform in the first place. The issue for private insurers even as they made nice with the White House and deceived Obama into thinking that he had a deal with them has never changed. It's still their endemic fear of any smattering of government control of medical care.
The hint that insurers would double cross the White House the first chance they got was Obama's mere mention that he'd impose higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for coverage of the uninsured. This stirred terror among insurers and medical industry groups of deficit soaring taxes and socialized medicine. The even bigger hint was the even more terrifying to them thought that congress might actually impose cost containment measures into whatever reform package that finally emerged from congress. This would directly threaten what insurers regard as their absolute right to make and keep the kings ransom in profits they've raked in seemingly forever. This drove them to the barricades the past six decades even faster than their phony, self-serving scare shout that health care reform is socialized medicine.
Obama learned an age old and bitter lesson from the insurer's double cross. When you try to buy your enemies affection you can never be rich enough. The insurers royally played Obama.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book, How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge (Middle Passage Press) will be released in January, 2010.
Stan Dorn: More Right-Wing Distortions on Health Reform
Now that the summer's "death panel" rumors about health reform legislation have been thoroughly debunked, right-wing extremists are resorting to other distortions in their fight against progressive change.
Email the Insurance Industry's chief lobbyist
Karen Ignani at kignani@ahip.org
In a way you have to be impressed by what Big Pharma and For-Profit Insurance has achieved.
They've managed to poison our politicians and the broader media. They've managed to entangle themselves everywhere.
They even gouge us with their side businesses...
For instance, you pay extra on your home owner's insurance in case somebody gets hurt on your property. Why? Because we don't have universal health care. Somebody has to go after you for their health care.
The same industry sells us both insurance policies! They have us coming and going.
What about Uninsured Motorist coverage. We wouldn't need it with universal health care.... Oh by-the-way, an insurance company sold you that coverage too!
They've dipped into our pockets three times all for the same FEAR! It's BRILLIANT!
I'm sure there are others examples of the insurance industry I haven't thought of.
Worker's Comp?
Where does it end?
insight on the dynamics of this Presidency. REASON shall prevail.
And talking about political naivete, Obama himself said he will make mistakes he said he was not perfect, he said the process of reform will have be jump started now and again.
I just wish his accomplishments make rubbish if these kind of articles.
Although I am a bit pessimistic on the public option, I remain a little hopeful, that the blue dogs will see the light and embrace public option.
the status quo WONT WIN
My money is on Obama. AND he still will look like the nice guy. He got sucker punched, so no one will blame him when he knocks them down and is stompin' heads.
Let's see how this plays out. Congress should immediately repeal insurers' anti-trust exemption. Just for starters. Yep. "It's On!"
It's time to end our "risky experiment" of "For-profit health insurance". It's a proven failure.
HR676 (http://hr676.org) Single Payer system that is proven, pro-business and pro-people:
* Slashes at least 30% of costs off the top by removing private insurance overhead.
* Companies take health care expenses off their books. Stock value increases. Better able to compete internationally.
* Small companies could have access to higher skilled workers because previously they couldn't compete in the labor market by offering similar benefits.
* More entrepreneurial ventures will launch since they have more money and less unrelated risk.
* Dramatic drop in bankruptcies.
* Dramatic drop in lawsuits. Most of these lawsuits are simply to obtain money to cover health care if something interrupts their coverage.
* Reduced system complexity. Greater efficiency due to fewer regulations.
* Savings from employees not having to fight with their insurers during work hours.
* HSA and MSA dollars redirected back into the economy for goods and services.
* Additional money to spend from not having to carry "uninsured motorist coverage" on your auto policy.
* Contract employment is more viable for workers since they are guaranteed access to health care.
* People are covered when unemployed. No chance of being wiped out financially if you lose your job.
* Health care providers (doctors, hospitals, therapists...) see increase in business with much less administrative expense.