Long overdue. Didn’t Reagan talk about doing that, but the Dems blocked him???
If you look at the American health insurance industry under today’s current environment (with anti-trust) companies are merging and raising rates because of increasing regulation by states, e.g., pre-existing conditions regulations, disallowance of underwriting before writing coverage, etc.
Repealing the anti-trust exemption does not change the current financial state of insurance payers, it makes the single-payer system almost inevitable regardless or not whether Americans want it. If we want to end up with a giant single payer-plan, we will never get even the services provided by the private companies who have public stock to sell.
How many Americans are employed by the health insurance industry - and their suppliers... soon, unemployed or worse employed by the government, just like the car cos and banks.
...”the secretary could overrule state insurance regulators”.....
One guy from BO’s admin. to “overrule states authority” is never a good thing!
The biggest force for anti-competitive trust-building in health insurance is the Federal government.
The cronyism in the Toyota raid and now this; they are not even bothering to hide their fascist side at all
the only big entity allowed is the Federal Government.
Unfortunately, I would rather there be no anti-trust legislation at all for any market. Let customers decide. People said Microsoft was a monopoly, but Google took its cake.
The only monopolies our country has known are de facto monopolies that government imposes, such as water, electricity, etc.
Paper by D. T. Armentana written about 20 years ago, entitled ‘Should the McCarran Act be Repealed? Easily accessible on the web. Would he come to the same conclusion today? I don’t know. Basically he was saying that many times changes result in unintended consequences. My own comment, whatever the government touches usually turns out poorly.
If this is so, then perhaps when the government achieves its inevitable monopoly on health care, we’ll have a weapon to club it with.
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
Sen Scott Brown's number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke.
Tennessee has joined several other states in trying to pass a Health Care Freedom Act. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military's secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011)
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security
http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan
http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.)
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/hcva09/hcva110609-1.htm
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
Snip
The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Snip
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.
Bambi doesn't keep his promises...so buyer beware.
It’s a good move, but here’s the motive: Obama NEEDS to sign some kind of health care legislation. This bill, a minor common-sense fix that really everyone can agree on, is a good measure but will then get touted as Obama’s Great And Majestic Health Care Plan! Krauthammer has been predicting this. It’s a CYA move, but still, it’s a good reform.
...which has been in place since the end of World War II. The 19 who voted against the repeal are Republicans.And still no tort reform. All the bastards who voted for this should go to the gallows. Thanks Former Military Chick.
Does anyone know why the exemption was given in the first place?
OK ...now lets repeal the antitrust laws for doctors too...
I'm all for increased competition. It's a wonderful thing. But since when have socialists been in favor of it? Never. Can't trust a thing they say.
This is a good first move.
Now, anti-trust provisions need to be applied to State legislatures who, in effect, create and maintain insurance monopolies and price fixing.
We should at least TRY the free market once ...
I am for this.
In my area UHC is taking over a huge chunk of the market. It is not good for anyone but UHC.
*
Just a thought on healthcare, have the individual state on
on his tax, D.L. for instance, wheather he has insurance. Then create a pool and distribute these people to various ins. cos. with the gov. paying for the ins. for those who cannot afford ins. Oh fergit it, we’re broke anyway.
Can we get rid of any functional equivalent of the “antitrust exemption” for the government too? The Post Office, Social Security, etc . . .