Those Who Legislate on Behalf of the Majority

<p>In a New York Times/ CBS poll done in June over seventy percent of respondents said they would favor health care reform.(http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll_graphic_ready.html) Soon after the health insurance industry boosted its efforts to convince Americans health care reform was a bad idea. They launched advertisement campaigns telling us socialism was on it's way, seniors would be kicked off of health insurance, death panels were on the way and a lesser form of health care would befall us. They took that to the next level by having their lobbying groups fund and help kick off the "Tea Party" movement sending out memos on how to disrupt town hall gatherings of unsuspecting citizens forcing them into not being heard.</p > <!--break--> <img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/insurance_preexisting_condition_459635.jpg"><br><p>The fact these large corporations would masquerade as organizations genuinely interested in the well being of people by attempting to convince them most experts are wrong is awful. The fact they would hire people to organize groups of people to go out and keep ordinary people from expressing their right to free speech flies in the face of everything America stands for. </p > <p>Who exactly would regulations forcing health insurers to make payments within a set timetable hurt? Not middle and lower income Americans. Who would regulations forcing insurance companies to pay for all doctor approved treatments hurt? Only insurance companies who have been benefitting by not paying. If we're stepping on their toes by ending the hustle they've been running on those paying premiums - tough.</p > <p>Insurance companies were loud and persistent and had quite a scam going aligning themselves with Tea Party groups, but polls came out and most Americans still supported reform. Now in addition to all the theater and props already going they've concocted the PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans an insurance industry lobbying group. As expected it's a gimmicky half complete horror story about insurance costs rising faster than under current law, etc.</p > <p>So we are supposed to believe this after all the talk of killing grandma, death panels and the commies invading if health care reform is passed. Right. Someone's running low on cred. By now trusting a report commissioned by them is like trusting a report commissioned by the tobacco industry for the express purpose of presentation to congress when considering legislation aimed at exposing the dangers of smoking. It's like someone accusing a company of wrongdoing and then trusting the company's internal report claiming they did nothing wrong. Were they expected to say anything different?</p > <p>At this point legislation aimed at getting us caught up with the other top 23 developed nations in the world is inching towards being passed, and, as Democratic National Committee Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said, the industry is "working feverishly to scuttle reform to protect its bottom line." </p > <p>CNN reported, "the health care sector has spent $263 million this year lobbying Congress for changes to reform plans." Also "there are more than 3,000 people registered to lobby about health care, almost six lobbyists for every member of Congress&#8230; 'This is one of the biggest lobbying pushes that we've seen on a single issue in U.S. history,' said the communications director for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics." </p > <p>The report went on to say, "top Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are swinging back at the insurance industry. Reid testified&#8230; asking to repeal an antitrust law that has given certain protections to the insurance industry and lets them reap in huge profits. Reid's office says the law allows insurance companies to huddle in a room and come up with rates&#8230; other than Major League Baseball, no other industry has this exemption."(http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/15/health.care.lobbying/)</p > <p>A Washington Post report fact checking some of the claims made in the Health Insurance Industry report found these interesting discrepancies among many more: </p > <p>Regarding the Individual Mandate"</p > <p>"There is a lively debate about whether the penalty would goad healthier people to get coverage. But the reports are probably too pessimistic. Massachusetts has gotten all but 3 percent of residents into coverage with a penalty of roughly the same size. The reports also do not take into account the draw of the low-cost "young invincibles" policy included in the bill. And the Congressional Budget Office estimates coverage levels would rise to 94 percent of Americans, from 83 percent."</p > <p>Regarding new Regulations on Insurance Plans</p > <p>"There is no question that consumers in loosely regulated states now buy bare-bones policies that would not meet the new standards. But the reports underestimate the pricing power that individuals without employer-based coverage and small businesses would enjoy as a result of being pooled together for coverage, instead of buying on their own in highly uncompetitive markets, as they do today. In addition, small businesses already enjoy protection against denial of coverage, so that rule would not represent a change for them."(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/factchecker15.html)</p > <p>There is no doubt who is really behind the anti-reform movement. It's the same people who are benefitting most from the status quo. Things are are nice and cozy for those reaping in the profits. For the rest of us we are but one serious illness from discovering a real reason to throw a Tea Party and at whose front door we should be throwing it. The insurance industry is behaving like an out of control brat about to be corralled, punished and forced to change. They are throwing a desperate tantrum because they have been able to get away with their negative behaviors and have never been held accountable in terms of legislation. </p > <p>For the sake of the majority of Americans we need to pass reform to keep us safe and healthy on par with the other top 23 industrialized nations who we currently trail in quality of health coverage. As we are the wealthiest of them there is no excuse. </p > <p>Those who legislate on behalf of the majority have a chance now. Look at the numbers and you'll see it's only the insurance industry folks who don't want serious reforms like a public option. According to a recent Zogby poll having it is the number three issue getting the majority of folks behind the bill - not against it.(http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/10/06/can-slumping-support-for-health-care-reform-be-turned-around/) </p > <p>That's all parties totaled. Ignore the theater. It's time to end the "there's a sucker born every minute" relationship we have with the health insurance industry. When you see their lobbyists in the halls do us all a favor and ignore them. They've had their say.</p > <p>To read about my inspiration for this article go to <a href="http://www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com">www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com</a>.</p >

<p>In a New York Times/ CBS poll done in June over seventy percent of respondents said they would favor health care reform.(<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll_graphic_ready.html">http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll_graphi...</a>) Soon after the health insurance industry boosted its efforts to convince Americans health care reform was a bad idea. They launched advertisement campaigns telling us socialism was on it's way, seniors would be kicked off of health insurance, death panels were on the way and a lesser form of health care would befall us. They took that to the next level by having their lobbying groups fund and help kick off the "Tea Party" movement sending out memos on how to disrupt town hall gatherings of unsuspecting citizens forcing them into not being heard.</p> <!--break--><p><img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/insurance_preexisting_condition_459635.jpg" /><br /> </p><p>The fact these large corporations would masquerade as organizations genuinely interested in the well being of people by attempting to convince them most experts are wrong is awful. The fact they would hire people to organize groups of people to go out and keep ordinary people from expressing their right to free speech flies in the face of everything America stands for. </p> <p>Who exactly would regulations forcing health insurers to make payments within a set timetable hurt? Not middle and lower income Americans. Who would regulations forcing insurance companies to pay for all doctor approved treatments hurt? Only insurance companies who have been benefitting by not paying. If we're stepping on their toes by ending the hustle they've been running on those paying premiums - tough.</p> <p>Insurance companies were loud and persistent and had quite a scam going aligning themselves with Tea Party groups, but polls came out and most Americans still supported reform. Now in addition to all the theater and props already going they've concocted the PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans an insurance industry lobbying group. As expected it's a gimmicky half complete horror story about insurance costs rising faster than under current law, etc.</p> <p>So we are supposed to believe this after all the talk of killing grandma, death panels and the commies invading if health care reform is passed. Right. Someone's running low on cred. By now trusting a report commissioned by them is like trusting a report commissioned by the tobacco industry for the express purpose of presentation to congress when considering legislation aimed at exposing the dangers of smoking. It's like someone accusing a company of wrongdoing and then trusting the company's internal report claiming they did nothing wrong. Were they expected to say anything different?</p> <p>At this point legislation aimed at getting us caught up with the other top 23 developed nations in the world is inching towards being passed, and, as Democratic National Committee Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said, the industry is "working feverishly to scuttle reform to protect its bottom line." </p> <p>CNN reported, "the health care sector has spent $263 million this year lobbying Congress for changes to reform plans." Also "there are more than 3,000 people registered to lobby about health care, almost six lobbyists for every member of Congress… 'This is one of the biggest lobbying pushes that we've seen on a single issue in U.S. history,' said the communications director for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics." </p> <p>The report went on to say, "top Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are swinging back at the insurance industry. Reid testified… asking to repeal an antitrust law that has given certain protections to the insurance industry and lets them reap in huge profits. Reid's office says the law allows insurance companies to huddle in a room and come up with rates… other than Major League Baseball, no other industry has this exemption."(<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/15/health.care.lobbying/">http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/15/health.care.lobbying/</a>)</p> <p>A Washington Post report fact checking some of the claims made in the Health Insurance Industry report found these interesting discrepancies among many more: </p> <p>Regarding the Individual Mandate"</p> <p>"There is a lively debate about whether the penalty would goad healthier people to get coverage. But the reports are probably too pessimistic. Massachusetts has gotten all but 3 percent of residents into coverage with a penalty of roughly the same size. The reports also do not take into account the draw of the low-cost "young invincibles" policy included in the bill. And the Congressional Budget Office estimates coverage levels would rise to 94 percent of Americans, from 83 percent."</p> <p>Regarding new Regulations on Insurance Plans</p> <p>"There is no question that consumers in loosely regulated states now buy bare-bones policies that would not meet the new standards. But the reports underestimate the pricing power that individuals without employer-based coverage and small businesses would enjoy as a result of being pooled together for coverage, instead of buying on their own in highly uncompetitive markets, as they do today. In addition, small businesses already enjoy protection against denial of coverage, so that rule would not represent a change for them."(<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/factchecker15.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/factchecker15.html</a>)</p> <p>There is no doubt who is really behind the anti-reform movement. It's the same people who are benefitting most from the status quo. Things are are nice and cozy for those reaping in the profits. For the rest of us we are but one serious illness from discovering a real reason to throw a Tea Party and at whose front door we should be throwing it. The insurance industry is behaving like an out of control brat about to be corralled, punished and forced to change. They are throwing a desperate tantrum because they have been able to get away with their negative behaviors and have never been held accountable in terms of legislation. </p> <p>For the sake of the majority of Americans we need to pass reform to keep us safe and healthy on par with the other top 23 industrialized nations who we currently trail in quality of health coverage. As we are the wealthiest of them there is no excuse. </p> <p>Those who legislate on behalf of the majority have a chance now. Look at the numbers and you'll see it's only the insurance industry folks who don't want serious reforms like a public option. According to a recent Zogby poll having it is the number three issue getting the majority of folks behind the bill - not against it.(<a href="http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/10/06/can-slumping-support-for-health-care-reform-be-turned-around/">http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/10/06/can-slumping-support-for-health...</a>) </p> <p>That's all parties totaled. Ignore the theater. It's time to end the "there's a sucker born every minute" relationship we have with the health insurance industry. When you see their lobbyists in the halls do us all a favor and ignore them. They've had their say.</p> <p>To read about my inspiration for this article go to <a href="http://www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com">www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com</a>.</p>

public://migrate_dada/insurance_preexisting_condition_459635.jpg