Comments on Insurers Have Hill Defenders

Just a few comments on the article I posted in my sidebar about Hill Defenders of Insurance Companies. Sen. Nelson wants his colleagues to "tone down the rhetoric," but Susan Collins' warning "that creating a public, government-run insurance program to compete with private insurers could disrupt state-regulated insurance markets" sounds to me like as good an example of empty rhetoric as I've ever heard. What exactly does that mean? Disrupt in what way? And is disruption necessarily a bad thing? If investigators disrupt a terrorist plot, that's a good thing, right? That is the type of language often used by politicians to stir up fear by hinting that reeling in the profits of a certain industry will have a dangerous rippling effect through the entire community. Conspicuous in their absence are any specifics. Something like saying, "these lawsuits will completely disrupt the tobacco industry in this country."

"All four say Congress would need to include provisions to ensure that the government program would not have an advantage over private insurers." Say-wha? A plan with affordable premiums that does not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and has lower administrative costs couldn't help but compete with private insurers. Do we really need a public plan that doesn't meet those criteria?

“I’m always surprised when I hear some of my colleagues describe the public plan as being needed to keep the insurance companies honest . . . when insurance carriers are regulated in every state in the nation,” Collins said. They are a heavily regulated industry.” But obviously still not regulated enough. The problem is provisions vary from state to state and most states still allow private insurers to get away with all or part of what I mention above. To her credit, Susan Collins' state of Maine has moved in the right direction in some areas as requiring individual policies " be written on a guaranteed issue basis, meaning insurance carriers are not permitted to deny you coverage due to unfavorable current or past health history." Looking at the website, however, I don't see anything that would prevent an insurer from finding an excuse to drop individuals suffering a major illness.

It doesn't really matter, though, whether Maine has that provision or not. Probably the best regulated and most efficient running health system in the country is the system created under Dr. Howard Dean when he was governor of Vermont. Only we can't all move to Vermont. That's why we need regulations that go beyond state borders and a public option anyone is free to choose.

Watch out for those who call themselve "moderates" who claim to be looking for a compromise and accuse reform proponents of being too "partisan." One public health plan competing against all the existing private plans is a compromise. It is not single payer or socialized medicine. Without a public plan there can be no reform, just some regulations that, like regulations on the financial industry that went into effect following the Great Depression can be repealed or ignored whenever the political tide changes.