Always an interesting find when you follow the money.
Would love to see the portfolios of some of these
senators. Making laws isn’t like making sausages… protecting
the high profits of these health companies is.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
For the health care stocks…

Gangsters by any other name…

The medical insurance stocks are still well below their highs of two years ago. Here’s Cigna. Here’s Aetna.

Seems the only chance of changing this atrocity of a bill lies with the house. Will Pelosi show some guts and refuse to accept this crap. She needs to start gutting the senate bill and get this thing started over.

So even more upside, then?

Obama, you’re a pussy! Stand up to the special interests!

uh duh

Yes… follow the money. It is all about the money after all. For example I see ads inserted into this page. I assume money is changing hands – looks like capitalism… everybody participates, everybody.

Turn on MSNBC now. Dylan is pushing back on lobbyists screwing up real reform.

Would it be possible to get a clip of this segment? Very much worth it.

someday I’ll spend some hours in the library looking at newspapers and editorials from ’81-’82 when I was 21, and social programs were getting whacked, and the rich pigs at the top were getting to keep even MORE of what they stole, and the boeings and northrops were able to get all the money they wanted to steal as long as they stamped ‘national security’ on the request,

AND

what I’ll probably find is that the Dim-O-Shits of Tim O’Neil sounded like the pathetics of today, only back then they had to bow and scrape to RayGun’s … ha ha ha … mandate! Cuz … if they did anything they the fascists would lie, the middle would get scared of the DFH’s, and us noblerer smarterer selflesser goodiererererer would LOSE to the meanies, boo snivel whine hoo, who are mean!

sniff.

rmm.

Jane, you are sooo right.

How at a time of such great need for the people, can our elected officials take so much? The bigger question is, why are we so complaisant over this? Are some so programmed that they forget they have a duty to protest these things?

i will pay the fine,its cheaper…Jane something in the mail to you!

clips from his show usually appear by noon est, will keep an eye out

Thanks, Jane. Nitty-gritty stuff. I’ll carry it around in my pocket for talking-point-ammo.

But, what are we to do? What are the chances that the House can muster enough progressive votes to kill this turkey?

And, I should add, at this point, I don’t CARE what it will do to Obama and his quest for a “big win”, to get smacked down on this.

And I sent him 80 bucks and voted for him, delightedly.

How the times have changed. As Obama came into office, I was worried that Rahm might get caught having done some indictable quid-pro-quo in Fitz’s investigation of Blago; now, I’m worried that he WON’T get caught.

it’s because our country is more like a corporation than a country, and our elected officials are on the board of directors.

all you need to know

http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/top-ten-worst-things-about-bush-decade.html

Trying to imagine how this plays out if it all passes. I am required to buy insurance maybe equal to 8% of my income. It it is a POS policy and I make just above the income to get any significant assistance from govt… but I am really struggling with my mortgage, car payment, I am underwater.

I refuse to buy the POS. The IRS can fine me 2% for this heinous act? How did they find out? Is there a whole new bureacracy of cops sniffing this stuff out? What if a few million people do what I do?

Insurance prisons! Oh wait, a hospital….

As Obama and congress prepare to send another 30,000 troops into the Afghan meat-and-dollar-grinder, and with no real drawdowns in Iraq, it’s so cool to hear Allen Greenspan talking about what a burden Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are, on the poor, beleaguered, U.S. Treasury.

at least the fine goes to the government,not insurance racket

snip from Cole article

If Dickens proclaimed of the 1790s revolutionary era in France that it was the best of times and the worst of times, the reactionary Bush era was just the worst of times. I declare it the decade of the American oligarchs. Just as the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union allowed the emergence of a class of lawless ‘Oligarchs’ in Russia, so Neoliberal tax policies and deregulation produced American equivalents. (For more on the analogy, see Michael Hudson.) We have always had robber barons in American politics, but the Neoliberal moment created a new social class. At about 1.3 million adults, it is not too large to have some cohesive interests, and its corporations, lobbyists, and other institutions allow it to intervene systematically in politics. It owns 45 percent of the privately held wealth and is heading toward 50, i.e. toward a Banana Republic. Thus, we have a gutted fairness doctrine and the end of anti-trust concerns in ownership of mass media, allowing a multi-billionaire like Rupert Murdoch to buy up major media properties and to establish a cable television channel which is nothing but oligarch propaganda. They established ‘think tanks’ like the American Enterprise Institute, which hires only staff that are useful agents of the interests of the very wealthy, and which produce studies denying global climate change or lying about the situation in Iraq. Bush-Cheney were not simply purveyors of wrong-headed ideas. They were the agents of the one percent, and their policies make perfect sense if seen as attempts to advance the interests of this narrow class of persons. It is the class that owns our mass media, that pays for the political campaigns of ‘our’ (their) representatives, that gives us the Bushes and Cheneys and Palins because they are useful to them, and that blocks progressive reform and legislation with the vast war chest funneled to them by deep tax cuts that allow them to use essential public resources, infrastructure and facilities gratis while making the middle class pay for them.

eCAHN, damn near everything is below their highs of two years ago.

But tracking the health and insurance sectors against the progress of the health reform bills in congress seems to indicate that the more that regulatory items and cost-control measures and mandates on the insurance companies, PhRMA, and for-profit hospitals get stripped out, the more anxious Wall Street is to invest in these stocks.

Wall Street isn’t looking at whether the health care reform efforts will improve health care — they’re betting that the eventual “reform” package will not hurt profits.

After reading Greenwald’s piece on the same subject, it is now clear that senate “reform” bills make great stock-picking tools:

1. Wait until either Obama or Reid announce that they are going to “stand up” to a particularly abusive industry segment and “reform” it.

2. Buy stocks on that news. Stocks in that segment will be dropping, because investors may actually think there’s a chance real reform may occur.

3. Wait for the US senate to work its magic, and for investors to figure that magic out.

4. Sell your stocks for a big profit.

5. Don’t forget where you read this, and send 10% of your net gain to FDL.

Thanks, and happy investing!

Actually this is a big, big win for Obama. He gets to say he passed health care–AND–it doesn’t kick in till after the 2012 election. He’s insulated himself from the political fallout, which will certainly come after people realize he’s forcing them to buy crap insurance. A masterstroke, IMHO. Plus, where the hell are the liberals gonna go? They’ll all vote for him because they’re to scared of the Repubs. BO is one crafty pol, I must say.

How have the major health insurance company stocks performed since Joe Lieberman announced he’d filibuster the public option? From Oct. 27 to Friday’s market close:

let’s make it clear though, Joe made it clear Obama never once pressured him for the public option

that really needs to be made clear because with no doubt that is not only an embarrassment to the president, but it throws the president under the bus AND it’s a slap in his face

not to mention a slap in the face of those who Obama promised a public option and claimed he supported it throughout

Not surprising, as Obama has sided with Corporate America and its fleecing of the citizens of America.

Obama is owned and is part of the problem, not the solution.

Change you can’t believe in.

A one-termer. Next.

To track the stocks wrt medical reform, you need to start with where the stocks were before any of it started, that is, to note that the stocks tanked in anticipation before rebounding more recently. And then, as you point out, many other factors influence stock prices. It is analytically worthless to pick an arbitrary date and attribute all the movement in stock prices to medical reform.

Jane,

I’ve posted this clip a few times and no one seems to respond.

Ken Hitchner, Goldman Sachs’ Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, speaks about the year’s outlook on Healthcare M&A.

“I would say, a bit of a contrarian view, that Healthcare has been a bit of a port in the storm right now, and Healthcare M&A, especially transactions that are not reliant upon the credit markets, are still fairly robust,” he said.

The relationship between the health care insurance industry and investment banking have been some of the most profitable, riding the financial storm since 2008.

This relationship needs a “flood light” of an indepth look.

This legislation is more about investment banking and the financial industry.

My email to the democratic party when they sent me a happy snappy email about hcr and asked for money yet again.

No. This is not reform. This bill is not providing coverage to 30M people. It is forcing Americans to buy junk insurance from the very insurance companies that have been gauging us for a decade.It doesn’t even do anything for us for 4 years. It will put the democrats in the minority for years.

So, for caving into the republicans and centrist and conservative democrats, you get no money or votes from me.

This is change I can’t believe in.

Then I unsubscribed from their email list.

The government that gave us Blackwater offers up another private enterprise solution. Way to go, Congress. Once again, you’ve put all your trust in the hands of a bunch of assholes who have no respect for human life.

Dear Jane,
Once again I agree with everything that you are saying, and once again I ask what is your plan for killing this bill, you have a lot of people looking to you for a answer so if you don’t wish to answer me personally maybe you could provide a generic answer to all the people who are looking to you and wondering the same thing.

Is it significant that in the beginning of July all six companies are at about the same numbers, and then they start breaking out. Like a horse race? If so, why?

Here’s a guarantee: if the bill passes largely intact, with no PO, you will see their stock rise ABOVE what it was 2 years ago.

This bump is modest and merely due to the seeming likelihood of the bill passing. Imagine what happens if it actually passes and is signed into illegal law.

Cecile Richards on HuffPo, talking about how women’s reproductive rights became a dog-yummy tossed to Ben Nelson for an “aye” woof for his vote for LieberCare:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cecile-richards/women-on-the-verge_b_399895.html

Just recently, sector stocks have gapped up at the open, I think twice. They are doing this on news–and the only news that affects the entire sector is the hcr bill. So I agree with you completely as to cause, and add that these stocks aren’t just rising, they’re rocketing.

The plan to kill this bill involves signing the petitions that are out there demanding it be killed. It means calling your Rep and Senator and demanding that they vote NO on the senate bill as written. It means NOT donating to the Democrats (only to specific candidates on the proven right side of this issue like Grayson…Feingold is not a good bet in my book because he ALWAYS talks right but also ALWAYS votes in a manner that ensures passage or confirmation (when dealing with a totally unacceptable nominee for something) but also allows him an easy, free “no” vote for show.

It means voting out those who support this bill (and making sure they know this is the payment they will receive in response to voting for this bill).

It means faxing your Rep and Senators. It means calling them too.

Yes, but both the Dow and S&P500 are up 25.5% in the last 6 months too. And the Medical Devices Index Fund is up nearly 23% Kind of puts things in a little better perspective. This has little to do with health care reform and it’s a rather silly point.

Also in response to eCAHNomics @ 3:

These corporations are the problem; not the solution. If we had single-payer their stock-graph would be a flatline. If we had a real public option, or if, by some miracle, we could get one, the drop-off will look like the edge of the Marianas Trench. And it should.

That’s the idea; to cut WAY back on the amounts of corporate money that are made off of sickness and ageing in America.

But but but… David Axelrod sez the insurers *hate* this bill and that’s why it’s the bestest thing ever!!! Surely the jump in the stock price is unrelated…. /snark

Insurance companies are heavily invested in commercial real estate and derivative bets–see any problem with this? What could be better than enuring their survival with 30 million new customers from the taxpayer base to build up their profits prior to that bust.

Sounds like a great argument for buying up stocks of Coventry Health Care, CIGNA Corp, Aetna, WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group and Humana.

Donate the gains to FDL!

I’ve donated more than a couple of hundred dollars to various FDL efforts. Perhaps, some day, I’ll tell you where that money’s come from… ah, what the hell. I bought a bunch of Pfizer shares back when they were going for about $13 a share. What I made went to FDL. ;->

The date Jane chose was hardly arbitrary. It was the date Short Ride Joe laid down a marker, which Wall Street understood to mean that Joe was foreclosing any real possibility of a public option.

If the federal government announces a new regulation on a major industry, the stocks in that industry are going to move — fast. If the regulation is seen to increase profitability, they go up; if it is seen as a brake on profits, they go down.

Are there other factors at work here? Sure — but when the pattern is across the whole sector, with margins ranging from 13-31%, it seems pretty clear that SOMEONE thinks that stripping cost-control measures and meaningful competition from the bill is good for Cigna, WellPoint, and their pals.

The GOP members are indeed demagoguing the Reid bill as we speak. I think Reid insiders constructed this monstrous travesty to serve as a very large target for the Tory members to rail against. Of course it’s rife with flaws in its reworked form. That’s the whole idea, I expect.

Bingo!

crime and money. go together like pb&j.

Bernie Sanders spoke the truth about this on Morn. Joe today. And in spite of the need to apologize for shouting down Wasserman, Dylan R. was also banging this gong. Just as MSM is starting to pick up the filibuster meme, this too will soon be part of the larger discussion. Thanks to FDL and others of the “online left” who have openly argued the substance of these bills.

That said, Jane I have a question/concern. I agree that the approach being championed by the established D’s (incrementalism) is wrong. (and god bless Sen. Sanders for his eternal optimism) But we shouldn’t oversell the alternatives to an up or down vote on the now accepted manager’s amendment.

The reconciliation process provides only a short-term solution. Anything we tie to a budget bill can only survive as long as the Congress that adopted it. The issues resurface as soon as it is about to expire, which means you have to immediately go back to the legislative process to embed the provisions in statute. The upside is that the country gets a taste of the possibilities and may not accept any retractions. (assuming the effective date of the provisions can be immediate and the people can experience some of the benefits)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for killing the bill because it doesn’t meet any of the stated goals and only serves to enrich corporate interests. But the road is still pretty rough between here and the goal, even using the reconciliation route.

oops, sorry, and now the question:

Is this part of your strategy? And if so, can you talk us through the path to a final bill?

I’d vote for Howard Dean or Grayson if either cared to run. A combination of those two dynamic personalities is probably just what we need. Meanwhile, we have had at least two Senators that have publicly expressed the fact the US Congress is owned by special interests. Both Durbin, on the Senate floor, and Bernie Sanders, this morning on TV expressed those same sentiments.

Meanwhile, when Darcy Burner was on Hardball last night, Chris Matthews castigated her for citing Lieberliar saying that the Prez didn’t press him on the public option. Personally, I don’t think the Prez did press him much, but I do think he would not have been with the 60 votes if someone hadn’t threatened to cut him loose from the caucus and take away his chairmanships and seniority.

Meanwhile, last night I heard Nate Silver on TV last night saying that the insurance companies really don’t make that much in profits. I suppose it’s all in how you count profits. Apparently the millions and perhaps billions of dollars they throw around to grease the skids with our elected officials that are supposed to be representing us, or pay to lobbyists, or pay to the top echelons of their respective organizations are just all part of business expenses, so Nate doesn’t consider them profits at all. But they sure ain’t spending that money on consumer’s health care!

The president speaks out of both sides of his mouth at the same time; nothing more than a cute parlor trick. It’s all smoke and mirrors with him. He’s nothing more than an empty suit with a winning smile and a way with words. But his actions speak much louder.

yep, the strategy is pretty much the same as before- whip the votes- but this time in the opposite direction.

Adding to that question:

What do you think is possible through the conference committee process? We can certainly whip the house again, who is already in a lather. But how does an improved bill (assuming we can get important changes through the conference) pass the senate? I only see three options: a) the 5 DINOs vote in the best interests of the ppl (seems unlikely); b) reconciliation (tough road for reid, for many reasons, and not the best choice for us- see @46) c) the nuclear option (reid just might have it in him… but what are the downsides?)

Indeed. What investors know is that despite the passage of the Senate bill, these companies face increased scrutiny and regulation, and probably in time will have no future at all.

40 million MANDATED new customers with no public options, no anti-trust laws and fines for every American and the health insurance mafia’s stocks go ape-shit on to the up-side?

In what “No shit Sherlock” file did you find this info?

Dear Jane:
Praedor chose to speak on your behalf, is this your plan or is this what Praedor thinks is your plan?
And why is it that you can’t speak on your own behalf?
Does Praedor know something that the rest of us don’t?
When Rahm Emanuels people went after Jane like a pack of rabid dogs it means that they don’t give a shit what progressives think, they have turned on their own base. They knew that this all was going to come out and their plan was to turn on their own people, they have been expecting this for quite some time. You are going to need more leverage than faxes and phone calls. How about you Jane what do you think?

its called a tax form, assuming you still file tax returns.

stop letting facts get in the way of a good argument please.