Health insurers throw support behind Republican candidates

[cal04]

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-naw-health-politics-money-20101004,0,6227164.story

The industry hopes a GOP Congress would scale back President Obama’s healthcare overhaul, such as regulations barring lifetime caps, while leaving in place the mandate that Americans buy coverage.

The insurance industry is pouring money into Republican campaign coffers in hopes of scaling back wide-ranging regulations in the new healthcare law, while preserving the mandate that Americans buy coverage.

Since January, the nation's five largest insurers and the industry's Washington-based lobbying arm have given three times more money to Republican lawmakers and political action committees than to Democrats.

(snip)
"The industry would love to have a Republican Congress," said Wendell Potter, a former executive at Cigna Corp., one of the country's biggest insurers. "They were very, very successful during the years of Republican domination in Washington."

[leftstreet]

1. Guess they've read the tea leaves

Interesting

[frazzled]

2. But, but ... the whole thing was such a gift to them.

The L.A. Times must surely be wrong. Because so many here told us that this was the biggest giveaway to the insurance industry in the history of the country. Not even that. The history of the planet!

This must just be some ploy. The health insurance industry is pouring money into Republican campaign coffers because ... because ... well, I'll think of something.

[flyarm]

3. It was and it is..they want more!! wake the fuck up! eom

[frazzled]

6. I am awake, thank you.

And I don't appreciate the vulgarity you throw in there with your insult.

I should have known the contortionists would be out in force to defend their world view here. Go back to sleep.

[girl gone mad]

16. This is exactly what critics warned about.

We will end up stuck with a mandate, with repealed or weakened protections and no alternative to the bloodsucking private insurance companies.

[Fumesucker]

4. When they get rid of the regulations and leave the mandate in place..

[kenny blankenship]

11. Exactly.

"Nothing's perfect!", but they're going "fix it later!", as we were so often told would have to be done.

They are going to work this thing to drive profits ever higher. They have the basic shape in place (themselves still in the center - closer to govt than ever before, govt acting as their right arm with mandates placed on individuals, and with federal subsidies paid to the insurers)

Now comes Phase II. Milk that cow, baby!

[flyarm]

14. Precisely what i was saying above..they want more blood from all of us!

So Obama sold us out to the highest bidders and he got it up the ....you know what! And the democratic congressmen/women and senators got it too!

[andym]

5. It was a "gift", it just came with too many strings attached

like the requirement to spend 80% of the money they receive from customers (premiums) on actual health care. The insurance companies find that to be onerous regulation that can be cured by deregulation.

Of course, the insurers won't like everything the R's bring them, like cutting out subsidized payments for the less well off, since R's believe that promoting equality limits freedom (to suffer.)

[Autumn]

8. Did you understand the part about lifting caps,

and the fact that Republicans are pushing to allow insurance companies to sell their plans across state lines, avoiding state regulations? And I am sure there are other parts they want changed, certainly not in our favor, but you can bet the mandates they want left. You might want to think of that.

[Skittles]

10. it IS

with no public option, when repukes gain power they'll easily tamper with the only "good parts" of that piece of shit bill

[K8-EEE]

7. Yes, it's because they are soooo concerned for all of our wellbeing

ROFLMAO

[Skittles]

9. they'll get what they want

which makes the exclusion of a public option even more sickening

[flyarm]

15. they got 3/4 of what they wanted with all the loopholes written in the bill

that Obama allowed the health care industry write their oen damn bill!

Hey some of you who told others of us to STFU..when does the great chess game begin?????????

Oh yeah it has begun..now the whores who Obama sold us out to are Check mating Obama! and the Dems.

But that was the plan all along.

And I have no problem telling you now..

Many of us told you so !

You know who you are..because you helped them sell us all out.

[Skittles]

21. CORRECT

[ibegurpard]

12. Back the Democrats to put something in place Republicans couldn't

then put support behind Republicans to erase what good there WAS in it.
Gee, who saw that coming?

[flyarm]

17. Me and many of us here..only to be called nasty names and told to STFU! eom

[TexasObserver]

13. GOP politicians are the errand boys for the for-profit health care profiteers.

[flyarm]

18. ahhh the Democrats and Obama were there to set it up that way!

the real errand boys were Obama and the Dems in congress who sold us all out to the Lobbyists Obama let write the bill and who he sold us out to in secret private meetings!

[TexasObserver]

20. I'm not giving them a pass, but the GOP carries water for the industry nationwide.

The health care industry owns the GOP, and just about every legislative vote they bring.

There are Democrats who fight for our side, but all the health care industry has to do is rip off 10-20% of the Democratic reps to win passage, and that's what they do. Look at the posting practices here, and you can infer that some Democrats unfortunately are just fine with the exploitation of the public by the industry.

The reason the US health care costs are so high is because they're economically unregulated. They can charge anything they want, and the insurers can reject anything they want. The gap is the hole through which many Americans drop into bankruptcy.

I blame Republicans 80% and Democrats 20%.

[girl gone mad]

19. But it was the Democrats who served them our heads on a platter..

in the form of mandated health insurance purchases.