Posted on 02/22/2010 10:49:47 AM PST by reaganaut1
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is hammering back at President Obama’s proposal to give the federal government new power to review, and potentially block, health insurance premium increases.
Mr. Obama included the proposal in his version of comprehensive health care legislation released by the White House on Monday. It comes in response, in part, to premium increases of up to 39 percent recently announced by Anthem Blue Cross of California for nearly 700,000 beneficiaries.
In a statement, the Blue Cross association said it shares Mr. Obama’s goal of trying to control soaring health care costs, but that Mr. Obama’s proposal would create a “high politicized federal review process.”
The association said, “President Obama’s proposal to establish a new Health Insurance Rate Authority ignores the unique cost drivers in each of the 50 state insurance markets. Several governors from both parties have recently expressed reservations about a one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare reform.”
Mr. Obama’s plan, however, would call on the federal secretary of health and human services to work with state regulators to review premium increases, and officials said they anticipate the secretary superseding the authority of state regulators only if they refuse to act in the face of excessive rate hikes.
In its statement, the Blue Cross association demanded that any health care legislation address an array of factors that seem to be outside the control of health insurance companies.
...
The association added, “We are troubled that several provisions in the president’s proposal would make coverage even more expensive. These provisions include putting new taxes on people’s insurance, requiring many people to buy richer benefit packages than they do today, and allowing millions of people to forgo coverage until they are sick – driving up costs for everyone."
(Excerpt) Read more at prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com ...
It’s the power to destroy the health insurance industry.
Let’s face it with caps on profits, salaries, prices - America will soon be second best.
Remember when we all knew that wage and price controls don’t work.
Exactly. From the start, ZeroCare is about destroying the private insurance market to make the single payer go down more easily in the future. This latest proposal just makes this purpose more explicit.
It appears as though the accelerator on BO’s 2010 model ObamaCareMobile has gotten stuck! Time to recall THAT thing too!
OK Blue Cross, did you support this healthcare nonsense thinking you’d have all sorts of cash from people FORCED to buy your product? If so, cry me a river (and I’ll push you in).
How does BambiCare do that? We're all going to be forced to buy it.
Personally, I think the insurers are in bed with him. They see a single-payer system as the ultimate and inevitable goal, and they simply want to get the job of administering it, using the enforcement powers of the IRS, of course.
That way, it's all gain and no risk for them.
Or a Communist Snake.
BSBC is the most politically successful insurance company bout there. They are the biggest defender of state mandates. BSBC is the largest carrier of small business health insurance and benefits most from these mandates that require small businesses to buy insurance coverage they don’t need.
That’s awful funny coming from a group that throws off a lot of campaign contributions to both sides of the aisle. Funded, of course, from your premium dollars.
I heard years ago that the goal is a single payer system with the Big 4 Inurers acting as administrative only companies. Totalitarianism is just wonderful.
gubermint forcing insurance providers to cover everyone for the same cost regardless of pre-existing conditions is the gubermint’s way of destroying private insurers.
Exactly. They made a deal with the devil and now that he owns them, he’s changing the deal. It was all very predictable.
BCBS supported the “reform” bill didn’t they?
The bottom line here folks is that the insurance industry would love for O’s plan or a similar one that forces 30 million more people to buy their insurance. This is one of the biggest sales scams ever. Its every greedy businesses dream to have a law passed that forces people to buy your product. More insurance is not the answer its the problem.
RE: “How does BambiCare do that? We’re all going to be forced to buy it.
Personally, I think the insurers are in bed with him. They see a single-payer system as the ultimate and inevitable goal, and they simply want to get the job of administering it, using the enforcement powers of the IRS, of course.
That way, it’s all gain and no risk for them.”
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Ding ding ding!!!! You have the winning post! The biggest health insurers like WellPoint(Anthem/Blue Cross), United Healthcare, Aetna and perhaps one other fully expect to get contracts out of this to administer Obamao-care.
They have long enjoyed reaping funds from the govt. to administer Medicare’s various parts, just as one example.
The fur will fly if this thing becomes reality and NONE but the very largest two or three health insurers survive.
Result: More govt. control, remaining insurance co. employees become quasi-govt. workers, and if it’s possible, our health care ‘system’ gets far worse than it is now.
Racer
Exactly I think BcBS in Calif deliberately sent out those huge increase notices to set odumbo up for this
all we can pray for is people paying attention and getting in touch with their Pols
RE: “I heard years ago that the goal is a single payer system with the Big 4 Inurers acting as administrative only companies. Totalitarianism is just wonderful.”
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You heard right — my spies in executive management at one of the big three health insurance companies told me YEARS ago that if there was a single payer system, they’d be front and center lobbying to administer it. ALL of the smaller companies across the nation will be toast.
That's it exactly.
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