Late Saturday night, the House narrowly passed a massive health care reform package. The President called the vote courageous and historic.
And Anthem, the giant insurance company, told us that the expected premium increase for my company's health insurance (we provide insurance for everybody) will be 14%. We got no additional coverage, just higher rates.
This is profound evidence that the insurance industry won the health care debate. The public and taxpayers lost big. There is little chance that something better will come out of the Senate.
The real fight happened a week earlier as the House Democratic caucus counted votes on whether the poorly named "public option" would pay doctors and hospitals the Medicare rate plus 5% or instead would negotiate with providers. With 218 votes required to pass something in the House, the progressive advocates of "Medicare plus" only got to around 180 votes and stalled. So Speaker Pelosi only put up for a vote legislation that simply called for negotiated rates.
Negotiated is code word for higher. Much higher.
So all across the country, insurance companies are raising their rates now. If they are going to negotiate, why not negotiate from a higher base?
I suspect that a poll of companies and those who have to buy insurance on their own would find similar rate increases as the insurance industry once again games a system that it bought in Congress.
The mass media, as usual, did a terrible job explaining why it was that a strong public option -- one that reimbursed at Medicare plus 5% -- saved money and lowered the deficit when most health care reform opponents were screaming about exploding fiscal deficits. The reason is pretty simple -- covering millions of people with a low cost plan is far less expensive than reimbursing private health insurance companies at rates sufficient to cover their bureaucracy, profits, and skyrocketing executive compensation.
Why is it that the supposedly fiscally conservative Blue Dogs successfully fought against Medicare plus when it would save huge amounts of public money? Because that money would expose the raw deal we get from private health insurance companies, and nobody has bought the Blue Dogs more times than the insurance industry.
At this stage of the health reform battle, I feel that we won a vote but are losing the war. Opponents of reproductive choice got to leverage a pro-choice President and Speaker into allowing them to hijack health reform. Access to abortion will fall dramatically if this legislation is enacted, and we heard not a single word of opposition from Mr. Obama. The insurance industry will get literally tens of millions of new customers who will be forced to purchase their overpriced product or pay a fine, and they can raise their rates with impunity in the meantime.
Given the rules, we were counting on the House to set a progressive standard on insurance reform. If what passed is the progressive standard, the Senate will be emboldened to make change far worse.
Our notice of a 14% higher premium is just one of many canaries in this collapsing coal mine.
Of course the really poor will get free insurance coverage.
The government didn't want the millions of poor people to rise and fight the government, so they are giving them free insurance coverage.
However, anyone who makes some type of salary will be financially hurt. They will have to buy insurance.
The best thing a citizen can do is to be Poor on Paper.
The Poorer you are, the better benefits you will get under this plan.
By the way, to give you a tip on paying for higher education.
If 2 people were Not to get married and had a child. And let's say that the male partner has a very high net worth and makes a very good yearly income. Fast forward to high school years for the child. The female is a stay at home mom. Her child applies to college and Financial Aid. Because on paper, the mother has sole custody of the child and she has no income and wealth, the child is eligible for exceptional financial aid packages. The income and wealth of the father is not considered because the legal guardian is The Mother.
Poor on Paper, and the child gets lot's of scholarship money to attend college.
(continued below)
Interesting scenario, right?
Play the system, or the system will play you.
There's also what Dennis Kucinich had to say about this bill:
http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153995
"“But instead of working toward the elimination of for-profit insurance, H.R. 3962 would put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care. In H.R. 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very industry that causes costs to be so high, which will result in at least $70 billion in new annual revenue, much of which is coming from taxpayers. This inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies — a bailout under a blue cross. "
It is what the republicans wanted ... a GIVE-AWAY to corporations and a SELL-OUT to citizens ... and yet only one republican voted for it. Now we have PROOF-POSITIVE that republicans are the Party Of NO.
Are the bright minds at the Ivy Leagues ready? Start by reducing the high cost in northeast states; where healthcare costs are twice that in the mid-west. Let's stop blaming the politicians; and hold healthcare insurers and providers accountable.
After the bill becomes law, the learning lesson is: Address future healthcare issues with the Base-Closure model. As in base-closures, healthcare priorities, including reimbursement, need revamping with changing technologies and evolving challenges. Both have many vested corporate entities, self-appointed consultants, and opinionated media groups.
The Base-Closure Commission is a panel of experts (not politicians) who present a well-defined proposal. President and Congress accept or reject the plan in an up-or-down vote; without modifying it. With this model in healthcare, there will be less controversy, politics and money-changing-hands. The country benefits from the expertise of the people who know and work in the field; rather than know-it-all politicians and pundits; and also saves itself from all the bitterness and political wrangling.
To simply blame it on the vote is reactionary and plays to the right.
You make a living from these higher premiums.
It's Americans like you that are working against the rest of America, for your own greed and benefit.
What health care reform needs is fixed rates a la Maryland for all providers across the nation.
Annual Revenue - $61.3 billion
Net Profit - 2.5 billion
Wellpoint CEO: Angela Braley
Braley's salary: $9.8 million/year
In 2009, Wellpoint has spent 752 families' yearly premiums on lobbying. ($9,529,747.00)
The average payment to a Wellpoint lobbyist would cover 49 individual yearly premiums. ($232,000.00)
Wellpoint currently employs 33 lobbying groups in Wahsington, DC.
986 people pay a year's worth of premiums so Wellpoint can hire lobbying firms.
~In this decade alone, Wellpoint spent $101,170,939.00 lobbying congress.
United Health Group
United Health Group CEO: Stephen Hemsley
Hemsley's Salary: $3.2 million/year
Total value of Stephen Hemsley stock options: $744,232,068.00
A few years ago, one in every seven hundred dollars spent on health care in the U.S. went to pay him. Every day of 2009, Stephen Hemsley has earned $819,363.10
Stephen Hemsley has earned $102,741.68 an hour in 2009.
United Health spent over $12.6 million since 2007 to lobby against health care reform.
This could cover the average health care cost of 992 families of four for one year.
(Part 1)
The CEO of Cigna is Edward Hanway.
In 2008:
Annual revenue: $29.1 Billion
Net Income: $292 Million CEO Salary: $12.2 Million
Hanway's 5-year compensation: $120.5 Million
$120.5 Million would cover the yearly out-of-pocket health care costs for the population of Providence,RI.
The three largest insurance companies saved $300,000,000 in the last five years by dumping the sick.
~U.S. worker's out-of-pocket expenses have risen 93% since 2000.~
~Profits have risen 438% for the top 10 insurance companies in the same time.
Information obtained in films here:
http://sickforprofit.com/
Medicare for All!
(Part 2)
Single payer -- the only sane way to go!