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Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts) Sat Jun 30, 2012, 12:51 AM Jun 2012

Wendell Potter: After ruling, health insurers now back on Team GOP

[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: none; border-radius: 0.3846em 0.3846em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Wendell Potter: After ruling, health insurers now back on Team GOP[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: none; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3846em 0.3846em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]As you read this, rest assured that the people who were largely responsible for the individual mandate in Obamacare—and certainly for the constitutional challenge that the Supreme Court just rejected —are at work conspiring with their friends in politics and the media to strip out the consumer protections in the law that benefit Americans most.

I'm talking about the health insurance industry, of course. It was the insurers that led the drive on Capitol Hill and at the White House to include the individual mandate in the reform law in the first place.

The industry had two objectives going into the debate on reform: making sure there was an “enforceable” requirement that all Americans obtain coverage, and making sure there was no public option created.

As the former head of communications for Cigna, I was privy to the industry’s strategy to influence the reform debate. I knew that insurance company executives and the industry’s biggest trade association—America’s Health Insurance Plans—would be working behind the scenes to achieve their policy victories.

--snip--

Much more at the link and worth the read. This isn't the end, it's just the beginning. And it's going to be an up hill battle.

PB

16 replies

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Highlight:

Wendell Potter: After ruling, health insurers now back on Team GOP (Original Post) Poll_Blind Jun 2012 OP

Why do Dems persist in being so sappy about 'bipartisanship"? n/t eridani Jun 2012 #1

Because they think it will make Jamaal510 Jun 2012 #6

Independents respect strength and decisiveness eridani Jul 2012 #15

Thanks, it's always informative to hear from Wendell Potter. sabrina 1 Jun 2012 #2

Interesting ProSense Jun 2012 #3

Yes, good (and obvious) point--yet you are one of only a few I have heard make it. nt SunSeeker Jun 2012 #4

You're totally on point with this. nt Raine Jun 2012 #7

Up hill battle. xxqqqzme Jun 2012 #5

Because... Salviati Jun 2012 #8

Greed. Ruby the Liberal Jun 2012 #13

And so it begins. Zalatix Jun 2012 #9

Du rec. Nt xchrom Jun 2012 #10

Interesting quote here: Laelth Jun 2012 #11

Here's a thought that occured to me about one of their potential "long games": Poll_Blind Jun 2012 #12

They saw it coming Ruby the Liberal Jun 2012 #14

kr HiPointDem Jul 2012 #16

eridani

(51,907 posts)

1. Why do Dems persist in being so sappy about 'bipartisanship"? n/t

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 12:53 AM

Jun 2012

Jamaal510

(10,893 posts)

6. Because they think it will make

Reply to eridani (Reply #1)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 03:13 AM

Jun 2012

moderate voters and independents see them more favorably.

eridani

(51,907 posts)

15. Independents respect strength and decisiveness

Reply to Jamaal510 (Reply #6)

Sun Jul 1, 2012, 08:26 AM

Jul 2012

All kinds of research supports that.

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)

2. Thanks, it's always informative to hear from Wendell Potter.

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 01:03 AM

Jun 2012

ProSense

(116,464 posts)

3. Interesting

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 01:05 AM

Jun 2012

Undoubtedly, the industry is helping shape the GOP’s new strategy of just calling for repeal of the law now that the Court has upheld it—not repeal and replace it, as Republican leaders promised until recently. Why? Because the industry knows—as do Republican leaders—that the industry’s favorite “solutions”—allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines, tort reform and deregulation of the industry in general—have proven to be completely ineffective in expanding coverage and controlling costs (although they would benefit insurers’ bottom lines) and cannot be enacted as long as Obama is in the White House.

In short, the health insurance industry is now with Team Romney.

Obviously, this debunks the claim that the insurance companies are happy with the law.

SunSeeker

(51,740 posts)

4. Yes, good (and obvious) point--yet you are one of only a few I have heard make it. nt

Reply to ProSense (Reply #3)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 02:34 AM

Jun 2012

Raine

(30,541 posts)

7. You're totally on point with this. nt

Reply to ProSense (Reply #3)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 03:31 AM

Jun 2012

xxqqqzme

(14,887 posts)

5. Up hill battle.

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 02:57 AM

Jun 2012

Why does everything have to be so f*cking HARD?

Salviati

(6,009 posts)

8. Because...

Reply to xxqqqzme (Reply #5)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 03:48 AM

Jun 2012

the people we're fighting against are extremely powerful, extremely ignorent, or both.

Ruby the Liberal

(26,219 posts)

13. Greed.

Reply to xxqqqzme (Reply #5)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 10:52 AM

Jun 2012

It is why the Libertarian "utopia" society is impossible in reality and why the insurance cabal is NOT going to give up without a fight.

Zalatix

(8,994 posts)

9. And so it begins.

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 03:58 AM

Jun 2012

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

10. Du rec. Nt

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 06:22 AM

Jun 2012

Laelth

(32,017 posts)

11. Interesting quote here:

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 09:20 AM

Jun 2012

But industry executives have not been nearly as successful as they thought they could be. So what happens now? After making a temporary alliance of convenience with the Obama administration over the health care law, they clearly have decided the best strategy to get what they want is to get back fully in bed with the GOP. Expect health insurers to funnel millions of dollars to campaigns and front groups in the months ahead to help Mitt Romney defeat President Obama as well as to keep control of the House and flip the Senate to GOP control.

This confirms what many of us knew, and that which many here denied, that the health insurance industry was, in fact, for a while, "in bed with" President Obama. They did not "spend millions to defeat the ACA," as many here claimed, ad nauseum. Instead, as Potter shows, the health insurance industry spent millions to shape the ACA, and that's very different.

Now, they are posed to spend millions to repeal the ACA. That much is clear. At least now I won't have to listen to fellow posters on this board spouting the lie that the health insurance industry fought against Obama and the ACA. When the law was being drafted and debated, that simply was not true. Now, it is true. Now, the health insurance companies really do oppose Obama and really are trying to defeat the ACA. At least we can agree on the facts again.

-Laelth

Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)

12. Here's a thought that occured to me about one of their potential "long games":

Reply to Laelth (Reply #11)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 09:48 AM

Jun 2012

Get congress to modify the emergency room mandates in EMTALA, by say, making legislation that causes those privisions to expire in 2014, say, instead of something which might show up on the radar more easily. Because, hey, everyone will have at least Bronze level coverage by then or be a "freeloader", riiiiiight? So who needs EMTALA?

Then, once that's in place, kill off PPACA.

That's just one way they can skin the cat. When you have that much influence, it's not about loss, it's about varying shades of victory. They can do an excellent job fucking us with or without PPACA, it really depends on what their analysis determines is the best course of action, with the most profit.

PB

Ruby the Liberal

(26,219 posts)

14. They saw it coming

Reply to Laelth (Reply #11)

Sat Jun 30, 2012, 10:55 AM

Jun 2012

and knew they couldn't fight it, so they WROTE it themselves (thanks, Baucus) to buy time until they could get a more business friendly control of congress/admin to let them back off the hook.

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)

16. kr

Reply to Poll_Blind (Original post)

Mon Jul 2, 2012, 03:02 PM

Jul 2012

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