Insurers In Black Hats

IBD Editorials ^ | August 17, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

Health Insurance: Driven by focus groups, the administration and Congress rail against insurance companies to get ObamaCare passed. So why have they been protecting the insurance companies from real competition?

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In a recent stop in North Carolina, President Obama told the crowd that our existing health care system "works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn't always work well for you." This shift from discussing what's in his plan to fighting the insurance bogeyman is no accident.

In June, Joel Benenson, the president's chief pollster, told the Economic Club of Canada, where health care is a public scandal, that the White House sees polls showing that people hate insurance companies. People "think the insurance companies have been the villain here, not the government," he said.

Obama didn't always share House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's animus toward the villainous insurance industry. Back in 2003, Illinois lawmakers tried to expand health coverage with the Health Care Justice Act. It drew fierce opposition from the insurance industry, which feared it was a prelude to a government-run system.

As Scott Helman of the Boston Globe reported in a September 2007 column, insurers and their lobbyists "found a sympathetic ear in Obama, who amended the bill more to their liking."

[Kaslin]

This is another

IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure

[Kaslin]

[screaminsunshine]

Honestly There are not many insurance companies willing to enter the market nowdays. The large group carriers like Aetna and United are basically selling administrative services and ancillary products. The profit is miniscule. The risks are astronomical and there is no good way to underwrite. Any profit they make is on the lower end coverage with co-pays and higher rates for the low deductible plans. The only insurance most people really need is for large medical bills. If you knew your medical bills would never exceed 3000 would you even buy insurance?

[Canedawg]

He is so full of crap!

Levin cited profit margins of about 3% for the insurance industry, as compared with 9% for beverage companies.

Why doesnt obozo speak the truth: the insurance industry has worked out well for the TRIAL LAWYERS who have been raping the system.