Blue Cross pushing plan to declare health reform unconstitutional

[meegbear]

As the battle for health care reform rages on in the Senate, the powerful insurance consortium Blue Cross Blue Shield appears to have embraced some rather unorthodox methods for achieving its goals.

After months of fierce insurance industry opposition to the bill, Blue Cross is working secretively with conservative front group American Legislative Exchange Council to use the issue of states' rights as a pretext to declaring health reform unconstitutional.

ALEC has for months worked to spread the notion that all the proposals put forth by President Obama and Democrats -- including industry regulations and a public option -- violate states' rights. The group wrote a resolution declaring as much this summer.

A senior executive at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS' lobbying group) has admitted to Think Progress she played a vital role in crafting ALEC's resolution, and insurance lobbyists have since worked in tandem with the group to promote it.

According to the ALEC website, the resolution was developed by a three member task force of industry representatives. One of the of the members is Joan Gardner, who is executive director of state services with the BCBS Association’s Office of Policy and Representation. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Christie Herrera, the director of ALEC’s health task force, confirmed that Gardner played a pivotal role in crafting this anti-health reform states’ rights initiative. Herrera told us that Gardner’s unique position at the BCBS Association brought “great knowledge” to the issue, and that Gardner voted to press forward with the campaign.

Numerous Republican lawmakers, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have co-opted the resolution, and amendments in its spirit have been reportedly introduced in at least half a dozen states

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http://rawstory.com/2009/12/blue-cross-blue-shield-tacitly-working-deem-health-reform-unconstitutional/

[meow2u3]

1. Health insurance racketeering: it's the law!

:sarcasm:

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. Is this from The Onion?

Because if it ain't, it should be. :scared:

[robinlynne]

3. oh fuck me. unbelievable.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. In truth, it is absolutely and specifically constitutional -

it falls under 'inter-state commerce' which is specified in Article 1, section 8 of the constitution.

[silverweb]

5. Incredible.

So now the unholy merger of industry and political conservatives is going to tell constitutional scholars and the Supreme Court what's constitutional or not, huh? This is gonna get good.

F'n BC/BS is the crap insurance company that my employer offers. I hate them. The rates have gone far beyond the affordable range for most of us. I won't voluntarily pay the SOBs 10 cents, so I get my primary care and all my medications in Mexico.

[Bitwit1234]

6. But but but.....

if this violates states rights, then maybe we should tell the military that they don't have to protect any body from some of the red states. Or how about not delivering letters and such to those states. After all we have a lot of rules and regulations that govern the government and the way they do things. If the red states don't want to be included...hell kick em out of anything to do with the government. Would they last three days. Any bets.

[kctim]

11. You will have to do better than that

Taxing in support of both of those is in the Constitution. Quite directly in fact.

Maybe look into the US Supreme Court finding social security Constitutional, or something like that.

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. And by wahtever logic they are pushing

I take it that Medicare, Social Security and pretty much every Federal law ever passed is also unconstitutional.

[Deja Q]

8. "Life" and "Liberty" are in the Constitution. What is BCBS's problem?

[meow2u3]

9. BCBS wants the liberty to rip off as many live humans as possible

and kill off the rest.

[leftstreet]

10. Corporate Personhood is unconstitutional, too ASSHOLES! n/t

[laughingliberal]

12. Good. Let's put the amendment allowing states to form their own single payer systems back in

You just can't make this shit up.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[andym]

13. Ironic that they're so greedy they don't even want the "giveaway" they're getting nt.

[KamaAina]

14. Most "BCBS" is now private for-profit

a company called Anthem took over many such programs. In CA, they control Blue Cross but not Blue Shield.

So, basically, you can just delete the "BC" part. :eyes:

[HughMoran]

15. annihilate them

[TCJ70]

16. So what?

Who asked them?