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The health insurers are not anti-"reform"
By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
08/07/09 1:08 PM EDT
The most pervasive and most thoroughly false bit of disinformation circulating about health care "reform" legislation is the assertion that opponents of Democratic legislation are on the side of the drug maker and the health insurers.
The truth is very far from that.
Here's a briefing on the policy front:
First, "pro-reform" doesn't mean anything. Currently, there are at least four different "reform" bills before the House and Senate, and they all share some common provisions and also have differences. They also all differ from what Barack Obama advocated on the campaign trail.
In common, all the "reform" bills contain subsidies for people buying private health insurance, as well as a mandate that every person buys and holds insurance. They also all impose regulations on insurers -- for instance, insurers would be prohibited by law from rejecting applicants or charging more based on health.
The areas of disagreement include a mandate that nearly all employers provide health insurance as a benefit, and -- perhaps most importantly -- the creation of a government health insurance plan that will compete with private health insurance plans.
So, where do the private insurers come down?
It's not too hard to figure out: they like "reform" insofar as it means mandates and subsidies; they oppose "reform" insofar as it means a robust government competitor. And, they have agreed to the regulations.
What are the insurers doing about it? The Washington Post reports:
America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group representing insurance companies, is running what it calls a "seven-figure buy" on national cable of its first ad of the year, calling for health care to be "as affordable as possible" and "supporting bipartisan reforms that Congress can build on." The ad comes as congressional Democrats focus their message on the alleged misdeeds of insurance companies.
Karen Ignagni, AHIP's president and chief executive, said Tuesday that while "the country should be in the midst of a transformative national conversation about health reform, instead a campaign has been launched to demonize" the insurance industry. This month, she said, AHIP will remain focused on spreading the message -- via the existing ad campaign and other efforts -- that the group supports reform.
That means, the insurers want a bill to pass that includes the subsidies and the mandates, and they will hold up their agreement on the regulations as a sign of their goodwill and what's in it for regular people. It also means they'll resist a government plan.
And campaign contributions?
The insurance industry gave 60% of its money to Democratic candidates in 2008 and so far has given 65% of its money to Democrats in the 2010 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The top recipient of health insurance PAC money this cycle is Henry Waxman, chief author of the House "reform bill," who is tied with Harry Reid for that honor.
In 2008, the top recipient of HMO money was Barack Obama, and the top non-presidential recipent was Max Baucus, chief Senate author of "reform."
Given this data, it's hard to take seriously Democratic claims about the "opponents of reform" being industry shills. Here are just two of those claims, but please post in the comments more of these claims:
Rep. Betty Castor, D-Fla.: "It’s not lost on me how badly the health insurance industry and the big drug companies do not want health reform to happen."
WhiteHouse.gov: "For those who fight reform in order to profit financially or politically from the status quo, the president sends a simple message: ‘Not this time.’”
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