It is not often that progressives and the Wall Street Journal are in complete agreement, but sometimes the facts are plain for everyone to see. The Wall Street Journal is running a story today about what a massive boon to the for-profit health insurance corporations Baucus’s health care bill would be.

The health-system overhaul proposed by Sen. Max Baucus would create millions of new insurance customers without subjecting health insurers to government-run competition — two key victories for the much-maligned industry.

The math here is very simple:
Individual Mandate (millions of new customers) – Competition (public option) = Huge Profits

The health insurance companies got the individual mandate they wanted, even though Obama campaigned against it. They also scored a huge victory when Baucus did not include a public option in his bill, something Obama did campaign on.

The WSJ story concludes with:

The outcome is still uncertain. "I think there’s only a limited chance that this could get worse [for the insurance industry]," said Sheryl Skolnick, who follows health-care services at financial-services firm Pali Capital Inc. "When all is said and done, the health plans should say a prayer of thanks to the Senate Finance Committee."

I couldn’t have said it better myself.