I want to ask a question that I can’t believe I don’t know the answer to: Have ANY of the large insurance providers piped in about Obamacare? Has Blue Cross/Blue shield made a statement? How about the HMO’S..how about KAISER? How would this effect all of them?
Disciplining insurance companies
While his tone and demeanor were as calm as ever, the president responded sternly to the health insurance industry, which had sent him a warning only hours earlier. The industry’s two largest trade groups said his proposed government insurance plan would have unfair advantages and would likely dismantle the employer-supplied coverage that millions of Americans have relied on for a half-century.
Obama disagreed, sharply.
“The public plan, I think, is an important tool to discipline insurance companies,” he said. “Too often, insurance companies have been spending more time thinking about how to take premiums and then avoid providing people coverage than they have been thinking about ‘How can we make sure that insurance is there, health care is there, when families need it?’”
Obama discredits public opinion
He went so far as to suggest that Americans don’t know their own minds when they praise their insurance providers. Some polls show that up to 80 percent of people “are satisfied with the health insurance that they currently have,” Obama said. “The only problem is that premiums have been doubling every nine years, going up three times faster than wages.”
Blue Cross takes on Obama
RALEIGH (WTVD) — According to a report in the Washington Post, North Carolina insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to take on Barack Obama.
It’s putting together a media campaign criticizing a White House proposal that calls for a government sponsored health insurance option for Americans.
Blue Cross said it’s wary of too much government involvement.
“We believe the government does need to play a role - to assist Americans who cannot afford insurance on the private market. However, we think that private sector health insurance can bring innovation and quality improvements to healthcare more quickly than government,” said Borman. “Dealing with rising health care costs is central to health reform. We see three key strategies to lowering costs: improving the quality and effectiveness of care, promoting health through preventive care and lifestyle changes, and continuing to lead in paying for better care, not just more care.”
Blue Cross has hired a media firm to produce the videos and plans to post them on a new website to be unveiled later this year.