Businesses that depend on low-wage workers will celebrate clauses deflecting the need for them to cover younger employees. The Stupak anti-abortion amendment rightly is being called the "sepsis amendment" because of its threat to deny women in need treatment thus driving them to undergo unsafe procedures. Thanks a lot, Mike Michaud. The so-called "public option" is in there, but it is effectively disabled for nearly everybody. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has it pegged just about right:
Kucinich: Why I Voted NO
Washington, Nov 7
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.Maybe a filibuster by Joe Lieberman now is the best chance to save the Democrats from themselves, and us too in the process.
By incurring only a new requirement to cover pre-existing conditions, a weakened public option, and a few other important but limited concessions, the health insurance companies are getting quite a deal. The Center for American Progress' blog, Think Progress, states "since the President signaled that he is backing away from the public option, health insurance stocks have been on the rise." Similarly, healthcare stocks rallied when Senator Max Baucus introduced a bill without a public option. Bloomberg reports that Curtis Lane, a prominent health industry investor, predicted a few weeks ago that "money will start flowing in again" to health insurance stocks after passage of the legislation. Investors.com last month reported that pharmacy benefit managers share prices are hitting all-time highs, with the only industry worry that the Administration would reverse its decision not to negotiate Medicare Part D drug prices, leaving in place a Bush Administration policy.
During the debate, when the interests of insurance companies would have been effectively challenged, that challenge was turned back. The "robust public option" which would have offered a modicum of competition to a monopolistic industry was whittled down from an initial potential enrollment of 129 million Americans to 6 million. An amendment which would have protected the rights of states to pursue single-payer health care was stripped from the bill at the request of the Administration. Looking ahead, we cringe at the prospect of even greater favors for insurance companies.
Related posts:
- President Snowe answers the call of history
- Snowe fires bullet into head of public option
- Collins: "I oppose the public plan"
- Snowe amongst the rubes
- Health negotiations on C-Span?
- Health insurance winners
- Public option died (somebody tell Howard Dean)
- Unprincipled health insurance non-reform
- Public option dead at the hand of Snowe?
- Wanking single payer
- Pro-Obama health care rally in Bangor
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