| Representative of two huge representatives of the health insurance industry, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, signed a letter to the Senate HELP Committee. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that they are opposed to any additional government run health plans. Specifically: “Creating a new government-run plan would thwart the ability of the healthcare sector to implement meaningful delivery system reforms, exacerbate the cost-shift from public programs to consumers and employers in the private market, and destabilize the employer-based system.”
It's not just that they're wrong, it's that they are COMPLETELY wrong. There real problem is akin to the AIG problem: bonuses and how the sector makes money. Right now, commercial insurers use 15% of their income to cover administrative costs, while the public sector health systems spend 2%. It's never too often to point out where a lot of this 15% goes. The link is to a list of executive compensation in the health care field. Those numbers actually dwarf what went to the AIG people. Heading the list, Edwin Crawford of Caremark (the pharmacy people) - he made just shy of $70 million. And you wondered why the cost of your medications went up. The health care industry is aligning with the IIE, and may bring back Harry and Louise. It's not going to play like it did in 1993. Back then, more people had health insurance, and for those that didn't, it was easier to get free care. Not anymore. Even people with "good" health insurance can be bankrupted by a serious illness. I'm glad that the industry is coming out with opposition now: it will give us more time to show all the ways that they are wrong. |
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