With the passage of the medical insurance bill, who won?

[branders seine]

Washington Post

Chalk one up for the pharmaceutical lobby. The U.S. drug industry fended off price curbs and other hefty restrictions in President Barack Obama's health care law even as it prepares for plenty of new business when an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans gain health coverage.

New York Times

Just days after President Obama signed the new health care law, insurance companies are already arguing that, at least for now, they do not have to provide one of the benefits that the president calls a centerpiece of the law: coverage for certain children with pre-existing conditions.

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. Too binary.

It clearly will improve people's lives. It equally clearly won't drive the insurers out of business.

I wouldn't shed any tears about the latter, but the former if far more important to me.

[berni_mccoy]

3. That is probably THE BEST summation of the issue. Well said, very well said.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. but it will not improve NEARLY as many lives as the supporters claim

it will. The industry has millions of dollars worth of lawyers parsing every line of the bill to evade what we THINK it tells them to do. This is not a win/win - it is, at best, a win/little bit of unavoidable improvement that is not nearly worth the cost.

And the long run is that it sets in stone that the government has no business and no investment in the healthcare of its citizens - that that is the domain of private business.

Watch for the forthcoming dismantling of Medicare.

[laughingliberal]

8. "Watch for the forthcoming dismantling of Medicare."

No doubt about it. Passing this bill with no sliver of a public option left no path for expansion of health care as a social program. I'm just breathless waiting to hear the excuses from some when the deficit commission come out with their recommendations.

[Zoeisright]

2. Don't you people understand that insurance companies have to make less

profit under the bill? They have to spend 85% of monies on health care (which they count as a 'loss' on their books) or pay a fine. The insurance companies did NOT win.

[laughingliberal]

6. Again, the typical MLR 20 years ago was over 90%

The insurance companies were very specific about it not being set at over 85%. The industry analysts have already reassured investors that 85% was a 'win' for the industry. Add to that the fact that states who have already enacted MLR's into law have found it next to impossible to detect manipulation of the numbers and practically unenforceable and you have something which sounds good but won't change much.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. don't you understand that they have the highest paid attorneys in the country

finding ways to avoid that - in legislation they themselves wrote?

I'll believe it when I see it.

[leftstreet]

10. LOL 'you people'

LOL

[branders seine]

11. lower RATE of profit--not the same thing as less profit.

Nothing prevents them from raising premiums, co-pays, etc. to make up any difference.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. "You People"????

Nice.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

13. MORE volume... less MARGIN... MORE profit.

This is how stores like Walmart and Dollar Tree operate. With a guarunteed larger consumer base... they can make more by selling MORE policies at a SMALLER margin so long as 85% max (they figured) was spent on healthcare. This is also why the Big Insurance lobbied for limit somewhere under 85%.

YOU PEOPLE need to take an economics class one of these days. :eyes:

[leeroysphitz]

4. I don't know but it wasn't me or my 5 year old son who needs surgeries. n/t

[laughingliberal]

5. Needed a choice of insurance companies, PhRMA, and Hospital Industry

All of these industries were saved by this bill. PhRMA is still protected from any attempts by Medicare to negotiate rates. Hospitals have made out like bandits with virtually no uncompensated care in the future and no public option tied to Medicare rates. And the insurance companies now have mandated customers and the IRS providing collection services for them.

As for the people, I'll let them decide what they think as the industry winds its way through all the loopholes. We have already seen they have one for the 'children with preexisting conditions.' The others will begin to emerge as more of the bill goes into effect.