If Bills Fail, a Quandary for Insurers

[undeterred]

Source: The New York Times

By REED ABELSON
Published: January 21, 2010

With the possible collapse of the Congressional health care effort, health insurers might seem to have reason to celebrate. The legislation threatened to remake much of their business, with the prospect of burdensome government regulation and less profit from selling coverage to individuals and small businesses.

Indeed, some insurance stocks initially rose on expectations that the Massachusetts Senate vote might have derailed the Democrats’ health overhaul. But more of the same might not actually be such good news for insurers, some health policy experts and Wall Street analysts say.

“In the longer term, reform would have been better for them,” said Les Funtleyder, the health care strategist for Miller Tabak & Company, a New York investment firm. He acknowledged that insurance stocks might benefit in the short run as investors expressed their relief over the diminishing odds of a health care bill.

The health care legislation under construction in Congress would force the insurers to conduct business very differently, but the companies had already agreed to some of the most fundamental changes. One was their pledge to offer coverage to everyone, regardless of medical status, if the government could ensure that people, even the young and healthy, would have to sign up. In return, Mr. Funtleyder noted, Congress was potentially delivering as many as 30 million new customers to the insurance market — many of whom would be able to afford coverage because the government would subsidize the cost of premiums.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/health/policy/22insure.html

---

Cry me a river.

[thesquanderer]

1. Best argument against the current bill

This article--in part, because it's designed to make another point entirely--really demonstrates why the health care bill is such a disappointment. It would greatly increase the profitability of the insurance companies (by making sure everyone had to buy the product, even to the point of having the government subsidize it for those who couldn't afford it on their own), without doing much to really keep costs down or to keep premiums down. Great for the insurance companies, not so great for the rest of us.

I know, it did some good things too, but on balance, if the Massachusetts election really does toss things back to the drawing board, I'm not sure we could end up with much worse. And whatever we do end up with will probably be all we get for another 50 years... so it had better be worth it.

[jgraz]

2. Yep.

[4dsc]

3. Single payer is all I'm going to say. nt

[mbperrin]

6. Me, too. nt

[Nite Owl]

4. Isn't that just what those

of us against this bill were saying all along!
It was a gift to the insurance companies (well they did write it).

[GinaMaria]

5. it's a dog of a bill and it needs to be scrapped

It has everything the ins cos wanted and nothing for us.

[undeterred]

7. I'm glad they wasted their time and money

and end up with nothing... except a lot of the public hating them more.

[DKRC]

8. +1

They couldn't wait for Congress to deliver us all up with the mandate & IRS enforcers.

[treestar]

11. But in return they had to provide insurance to those they wouldnt' have taken

The last paragraph cited above makes it sound almost fair.

[Iowa]

9. Yep...

The existing system is on the verge of collapse. It simply cannot be sustained for too much longer as more and more people drop out due to rapidly rising costs. The insurance companies know this, and were looking to Obama and Congress to prop up their failing system at our expense. Obama and congress worked their hearts out to oblige, but MA voters slammed on the brakes.

End Bush's wars about nothing. Restore progressive taxation. Single payer. Problem solved.

[area51]

10. +1

I've been wondering how much longer this insane system can go on. The greed of the insurance cartels is never-ending. They need to be heavily regulated, non-profit, and only permitted to sell supplemental insurance such as for things like plastic surgery. 100,000 people die in the U.S. per year due to lack of healthcare.