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When Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and the entire Republican Senate caucus stepped up to kill the public option in the Senate, it is important to remember that the health insurance industry won a victory—a victory worth $300 billion. As Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) now try to crush attempts to revive the public option inside a reconciliation measure, they are battling to protect that extra $300 billion that will flow to AHIP as a result. The public option was never just a “sliver” as Obama tried to claim. It was about a fundamental moral right and the role of government. But what it was also about was a huge amount of money.
The CBO projects that the relatively weak public option–the one limited just to the exchange in the House health care bill–would secure roughly one-fifth of that market, equal to around 6 million people (PDF). The CBO concluded that, as a result of those 6 million customers, the public option will take in $298 billion (PDF) in direct premiums, exchange subsidies, and risk adjustment payments from 2013-2019. However, with the public option removed, but the individual mandate remaining, that $300 billion will instead go straight to the private insurance corporations’ books. If, like I personally suspect, the CBO slightly underestimated the popularity of the public option, and it manages to secure instead roughly a third of the customers on the exchange, that would be roughly $500 billion that the public option would take from the private insurance companies.
I often hear the argument that the public option was not important because only 2% of Americans would be using it. That’s true, but it is important to remember that roughly a third are currently insured by public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Of course, of the roughly half of Americans with private insurance, the bulk of them get there coverage through employer-provided, self-funded plans. Plans in which the employer bears the risk and holds the premiums. The insurance companies are only subcontracted to provide administrative functions. That 6 million people the public option was projected to cover would be a significant share of the potential market for private insurance companies to actually cover and noticeably expand the amount of money they would have earning float revenue.
It is important to remember the sheer scope of the private insurance companies victory if they stop health care reform from having even a relatively weak public option. It will be a victory that will provide them with an extra $300 billion of our money. No doubt some of that same money will be used in the future to fight efforts to enact real health care reform.
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It’s interesting that Jon makes one coherent argument on the importance & specifics after another while MSNBC Hosts continue to rail on meaningless personalities and stupidity of the Republicans.
It’s incomprehensible to me that ONE Democrat would have the gall to vote against the Dorgan Amendment. So, why haven’t “liberal” hosts made a mantra of it?
Dems failure to pass or even bring to a vote signicant HCR is so important the House, the Senate and Obama should share blame and all be held accountable. All I can do is wait for the final vote, then work (and contribute to those who work) to vote out of office at the earliest opportunity every single Democrat.
I can’t help but wonder, come Nov. how many others will remember and do the same?
Wow, whatever they’re spending buying up Members of Congress is a better investment than buying Google at its IPO.
Jacob Hacker’s original Public Option proposal called for the premium subsidies to only going to the Public Option plan. That was the first thing the insurance lobby got “fixed”, now the $500 billion in subsidies over 10 years go to private insurance (with no cost controls!). Of course those subsidies would cover only a fraction of the insurance premiums that every American would henceforth be mandated to pay, so who knows what the total windfall will be to the insurance industry.
Of course, this insurance company “victory” may be very temporary. The PO wasn’t due to kick in until 2013 anyway even in the House Bill. By then the insurance companies could find themselves on the losing end of future fights, and if people get mad enough at their outrageous behavior could be out of the business of providing insurance for essential health care services by the time the PO would have kicked in anyway.
Given that this “victory” gives people a bill that is very hard for the Administration to sell as solving anyone’s real problems, it may have the effect of accelerating the movement for single-payer. In any event, the bill as is, or no bill at all will be a lot more energizing for enhanced Medicare for All advocates than a bill having a PO would have been.
Hopefully attempts to revive the PO will fail, and if there is any concession at all to the idea of public health insurance that will come in the form of expansions in Medicare and Medicaid.
I think this “victory” is far more likely to convince the less politically aware that reform is impossible, government is the problem, and there’s nothing to be done. They might even buy the “yes, but the provisions already in the legislation, that will come into effect later, will fix everything.
Market down, WellPoint up. Top right.
http://www.google.com/finance?client=news&q=wlp
It is about time firedog lake and other progessives start coming down hard on Rockefeller and Tom Harkin, this is getting rediculous.
Is there anyone left that is not owned by the corporations?
I mean come on, no one is really make much of this? It is time to take these bullshit artists to the woodshed!
In Obama’s and most of lawmaker’s and policy maker’s minds the calculus that drives their dicision making is roughly that corporate generated investment wealth is to be protected. That is the source of wealth that decision makers tap into. Their economic well being depends on their protecting this source of wealth.
So it is naive to think that those in government will place the public’s interest, whose role after all is to feed the corporate wealth making trough, ahead of their own. When calculating the allotment of benefits that flow from the government’s decision making the corporate investment wealth making structure has just as much right to be served as the public, in their eyes.
Seen in this way Obama is doing exactly what is to be expected. He too believes that the system as it exists should remain in place
I would certainly like to see KO & RM take on the Dems, rather than telling me the latest, up to the nanosecond sound bite about what a stupid ass Rush Limbaugh is. Most of my liberal/progressive friends have also gone “off” MSNBC and only tune in infrequently. But really, perhaps the goal of the top brass at MSNBC. Who knows.
Props to KO & RM for a lot good work that they’ve done, but lately, it’s pretty much: meh. Not. interested. in. worst. person. in. the. world.
They’re both good a digging out stuff like this, if permitted, and if they put their mind to it.
The continuing lies and obfuscation and change partners and dance b.s. by the Democrats is really beyond the pale. Time for them to get spanked by more than just us here at FDL. But I won’t hold my breath for the corporate powers that be permit that look behind the curtain.
Thanks for the post. It’s good, albeit depressing news as usual.
Did you catch Specter on the Ed show? Interesting that Specter is the only dem senator that is going up in the polls. Gee, if you would listen to the dem establishment and the media, Specter must be a fool running to the left. I agree with you about the bill, lgid. We would do much better by sending the bill down, but my guess is there will be too much bs spewing from the establishment that Obama needs a victory or the whole 2010 election will be a disaster. I will predict that if they pass the senate bill, the 2010 election will be a disaster for the dems.
A typo in the third paragraph obscures the meaning in an unfortunate way. “…the employer bares the risk…” certainly should read “…the employer bears the risk…”.
And that, in your last sentence, is really the problem here: we will have massively engorged the leviathan, and it will never allow any real reform going forward. Having had a taste of ‘reform’ that swelled its coffers and vastly expanded its customer base, BigIns will only allow that kind of ‘reform’ in the future.
“Is there anyone not owned by the corporations”?
A question I have been asking myself with increasing fequency, and it’s like every rock that one lifts reveals loads of those creepy-crawling squirmy corporate parasites. Sadly, I think the answer to your question is: no. there is no politican, at least at the nat’l level, who is not owned by the corporations, and given the Citizens United decision, we are, as my Aussie mates would say, home & hosed.
Rockefeller and Harkin–The Rotating Villians du Jour
wanna clean up the health care insurance industry sewer and WIN votes in November?
add three popular ideas that take effect NOW?
-close the donut hole immediately.
-offer Medicare buy-in at 55
-extend the right to COBRA for fired/laid off workers until the exchanges kick in.
need another? -require a 90% medical loss ratio
Obama said it was a “sliver”. Robert Gibbs proclaimed the public dead last week, another “we don’t have the votes” claim. Yet, we should blame just a couple bad Senators?
Not buying it. There is one group that consistently didn’t support the Public Option – the White House. There is one person that made Max Baucus the point person in the Senate – Barack Obama in Dec 2008.
The Baucus Bill is the one Obama wanted all along. Stop pretending the problem is Congress.
we need to elect some democrats to replace the democrats we are upset with. ones that will follow the party leadership like the last ones we were upset with. ya. that will change things
Pure coincidence they aren’t for re-election until 2014.
I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to credit only the four a$$holes – Lincoln, Nelson, Landrieu and Lieberman – with stepping up to kill the public option. Rockefeller’s and Harkin’s recent efforts to kill it just as it looked like it might not be dead reveal that the whole thing was a highly orchestrated kabuki from beginning to end.
Obama saying he was for it while doing absolutely nothing to deliver it has been masterful.
Great performance, you sellout a$$hole Democrats.
Gosh, we were led to believe it was the Republicans that had the Insurance Industry in their back pocket, speaking of backpockets, how many billions in “street money” will Nancy Pelosi be promising for votes to Housemembers on the fence, and about to lose their House seats?
Exactly Teddy, that’s why I’ve been saying for some time that supporting this bill=supporting killing real reform forever.
Every politician that votes for it should own that. Because once this gets started, they’re never gonna be able to take on the insurance industry again. Any and ALL hopes of Single Payer will end, with the stroke of Obama’s pen.
So, what are we to do, now that we’re truly hosed?
John Prine had this answer years ago, but I thought it was a bit extreme, looks more and more sensible lately.
It looks to me as if we’re being forced to leave this fight to our kids because we made the mistake of thinking we won when Nixon resigned.
Big mistake, the fascists are in it for the long-haul, we’re about to learn what that means.
The republicans’ latest argument is that passing reform will hurt the Dems in 2010 and 2012. It would seem to me if they REALLY believed that, they would be pushing for a vote, rather than trying to prevent one. I find their concern entirely unbelievable.
You beat me to it. I think Rockefeller and Harkin deserve just as much credit for their assholishness, as do Obama and many others who call themselves Democrats.
FDR would not be proud.
As to Jon’s final point about some of that same $300 billion will be used in the future to fight efforts to enact real health care reform, I think the only hope left for real reform is that the simple greed of the corporate executives leads to total systemic failure. It’s unfortunate that they’re too stupid to get the concept of enlightened self-interest and allow some real reform now in order to save the system that fills their pockets so well.
Let’s just hope that this neoconservative/neoliberal experiment with our economy is enjoying its final hurray before entering the last throes.
Totally O/T, but I just read this and had to post it.
The gun nuts are getting more and more brazen.
I believe they’re correct, and I HOPE they are correct. If the Democratic Party passes this POS that effectively ends all hope of ever getting to Single Payer, they deserve to have their asses thrown out.
But they really can’t vote for it, and then campaign against it. Well they could, but it wouldn’t be very wise, at least not in an election year.
Does Firedoglake have a list of the reps and their phone numbers on this site somewhere??
Starting tomorrow I’m gonna start calling other folks Reps and Senators. The ladies in Webb’s and Warner’s offices are getting tired of hearing my voice.
$300 Billion Victory? Small potatoes. If the bill is passed via reconciliation, with the “fairness” “Simple majority” “50+1″ logic being bandied about by Obama and the MSM you will have handed a tool to the right that will punish progressives for years…no more filibuster, no more health care, hello conservative judge onslaught. I do not believe that people who are promoting this strategy have thought it all the way through.
The “right,” meaning the Republicans, have already used this same strategy (reconciliation) several times, including Bush’s tax cuts for the already filthy rich. Twice.
And the filibuster should go. The Constitution is clear about the votes that require a supermajority, and passing legislation is NOT one of them.
My fear is that the bill will give the insurance companies even more money that they will use to lobby for the end of Medicare. They sure as hell want to get rid of an example of a popular, government-run alternative to their business model.
Establishment liberals will probably try to convince us that the exchanges are so great, we don’t need Medicare anyway. Or they’ll say that people should be able to opt-out of Medicare and stay in the wonderful, wonderful exchanges. Looking down the road, I see nothing but ill tidings for Medicare now that the insurance companies will be getting even more powerful.
Since Medicare turns down a higher percentage of procedures than private insurance, why would you want to buy in if you didn’t have to??
link?
Liberals need to quit being so scared of majority-rule. If you implement a popular program, then lose power, the opposition kills it at their peril. And if they do kill it, you simply make it a centerpiece of your campaign and put it back in place when you win.
Politicians cut popular programs at their peril.
Take a look at the UK. The leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, is pledging to increase funding for the NHS above the level of inflation. He has distanced himself from Margaret Thatcher’s steps towards privatisation. He knows support for the NHS is required for the Tories to be a viable political party in Britain.
And if the Conservatives do win control of Parliament but then end up gutting the NHS anyway, they will end up in the minority for a long, long time.
Not moving away or fully off the WW2 era American AHIP regime of employer/employed/employee based healthcare will doom whatever BS the POTUS was pitching today. Last week. Last month. Last year. From the get go. Same o same o.
Being forced to navigate complex and confusion prone paperwork chases and screening procedures which will ebb and flow with your employment/household income and wealth status or lack thereof will not be easy for many Americans. Will there be a simple and one card national access/delivery plan no matter where you are,were or went? No.
As JW reveals above AHIP is King of the World if Barack and his Jello Spined and Long Vision Impaired D Party which is trying to please the CrazyTown R Party wins.
Sad to think Barack Obama’s win,the ThrowBack D Party’s win and the CrazyTown R Party’s win is not a win for most Americans five years from now,fifteen years from now or twenty five years from now. Pathetically sad.
Barack Obama is more interested in pleasing the loser Centrists and R Party types. Thanks Barack Obama for your Profile in Political Cowardice.
Yep, it’s looking grimmer and grimmer every day.
No reason not to rail against the machine though, know you know that.
Most of us DFH’s been railin against that machine since we hit our early-mid teens. Me, I was railing against right and wrong as a child only I didn’t know it . . . danged parents sure instilled some serious shit in us kids from the cradle. I’m not even sure anymore they KNEW what they were doing, it was just how they viewed life. Right and wrong. Do good. Help others if they need it.
Sigh.
I honestly don’t know what it will take for the rest of we the people to understand it’s a class war and the corporations have bought out the elected offals and the election process and it’s so not about party affiliation, religious beliefs or any other divide other than position in life.
I DO know, history tells us that too big a disparity between rich and poor is cause for societal failure and failure of state.
Every time.
Blow up your tv, throw away your radio.
Move to the country, build ourself a home.
Have a lotta children,
Feed em all peaches,
Let em find Jesus, on their own.
I’m a big Prine fan.
They just spin shit sideways, 24/7.
Truth is, reality is that if Dem’s pass shit HCR then there WILL be a HUGE party backlash.
Whether that translates to Publican Wins, I’m not so sure, as they are THAT bad.
Passage of shit HCR, lack of jobs development, a bad economy and social unrest as things fall apart will DEFINITELY cause SOME reaction at the polls in ’10, and ’12.
There’s now and will continue to be a HUGE opening for progs/social dems/liberals whatever to advance their causes and do better for the people, but getting the message out is gonna take foot soldiers as the MSM will NEVER aid the effort.
Regardless of how Halter ends up, or governs if he wins it all, HIS lesson is one of EXAMPLE to the Centrist/Corporate RNC and DNC and their affiliates, top to bottom.
It’s the first shot across the bow. $5 million in a day, two days? Hell of a shot!!!
We hope on, it’s better than caving and cryin, no?
If the bill as exists in the Senate DOES pass without GREAT overhaul (robust PO, etc) then you are absolutely right.
It’s the opening of the barn door, the beginning of the end of SS, Medicare, Medicaid, and the privatization of the public school system (see Obama today and Rhode Island teachers that were fired).
And that will happen in less than 5 years.
And we will have reverted back to the early to mid 1800′s squalid existence of England/Europe. Rich, and poor. None in between.
LInk? You bray, yet, you don’t show details, and you do it constantly.
And you bray not common knowledge, but Rovian Talking Points.
Tell Rahm you need a new script.
It would appear I owe you a beverage of your choice . . *G*
I don’t know what you point is, but there ARE no liberals in our elected officials.
We have a facist state, not a democratic republic.
Sad fact is that half our population (or more) refuses to believe it yet.
But as times get harder, jobs never return, and life gets harder and harder for more and more, they WILL awaken.
They always do.
White wine, please. :)
I would like to see a link to any proof that Medicare turns down more than private insurance. Not so far for me.
You bet. I completely agree. It is just not fun anymore to whale on the Repubs when it’s the Dems who are sticking knives in our backs.
From the standpoint of government supposedly serving the interests of the broad population, the US is clearly ungovernable.
Government is completely out of control. The parasites are about to devour the host organism, and all they can (or will) do is sit there and play “facilitator.” It’s time to start thinking of a whole new dispensation. Let’s start by killing this bill and starting all over again.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/28/105716/884
KILL THE BILL=POWER TO THE PEOPLE. Just the kind of chaos that will inflict a wound on the establishment. Unfortunately, I think they know that and Weiner and the other rag-tag chump progressives in the house will come to their rescue, thereby burrying any chance for change to come from within the Democratic Party.
AMA report for 2008 aND 2009
2008
Medicare 6.85% turndown
Insurance industry 3.4% turndown
2009
Medicare 4.3% turndown
Insurance Industry 1.75% turndown
That’s the actual figures. The AMA site will have these reports.
Link
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/heal-claims-process/national-health-insurer-report-card/2008-nhirc.shtml
National Health Insurer Report Card for 2008 is it’s title.
The link for 2009 is
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/heal-claims-process/national-health-insurer-report-card.shtml
NO ONE is going to approve every procedure requested by a doctor and patient. NO ONE. If they did, it would be like an unlimited budget. Even a public option or even single payer won’t do it.
You’ve been sold a bill of goods regarding this–holding out hope to you that being turned down for a procedure would be gone. They know it isn’t true, but they imply it anyway. Judge for yourself what that means.
Funny. No one in my family has every been turned down for a procedure by a private insurance company either. But, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
The links are posted. The figures are real.
You haven’t been turned down because it is rare; for both Medicare AND insurance. What happens is a few of the small percentage turned down are trotted out to make you think it is common place. You’ve been mislead.
Medicare turns down twice as high a percentage, but, it is still a very small percentage. The overwhelming majority of people and procedures are approved.
To imply a promise of never being turned down (“we won’t let the insurance company come between you and your doctor”) is false, and they know it is false.
It can’t be done.
Insurance companies are the biggest customers of Goldman Sachs. This so-called “health care reform” is just another method of funneling taxpayer dollars to Wall Street with no budget for making sure the money is actually spent on health care and not on credit default swaps.
Totally agree.
Replace all the bills with the Reform suffix proposed by administration with Scam suffix, read to find out direct or indirect middle class mandates in it and one will better understand these crappy lobbyist written bills, on how the middle class is being slowly pushed to poverty, put to pain and suffering.
Public option with anti-trust exemption removal was the only thing which could have hold costs down.
Now we have a situation where the costs will sky rocket, more number of people will be without insurance, insurance companies dont have to worry since they have everybody in the middle class in the net with individual mandates & IRS will provide them a free service as collection agents, royalty payments will probably made to the bill facilitators with speech tour payments, economy will slowly collapse because of lack of expendable income in the middle class, parents being dead-beats to their children due to lack of money and large portion of american population will go through pain and suffering without knowing the real reason.
My request to house progressives who are the only hope right now is Kill the Senate Bill and if leadership is insisting just simply pass 1 Page bill written in it only one Sentence i.e. Public Option and Repeal of Anti-trust Exemption for Insurance Companies
The House passing the Senate Bill seems dead even if progressives stay on board with no public option because Stupak has 12 names that were yes votes that now say they will be no votes because – if I understand the MSNBC discussion – the Senate Bill has OPM (federal employee) rules that have abortion coverage for Federal employees. I have not read the page 34 wording that was mentioned on Chris Mathews show as being the problem, but given the AP found only 9 previously no votes that could become yes votes, plus the fact retirements and death mean the prior House bill vote would now be a tie, I suspect this is going nowhere.
The health insurance companies must be destroyed by whatever means necessary. Its them or us.