Why are Obama and the Dem leadership going against the public on the PO and an individual mandate?

[brentspeak]

The majority of the American people...

a) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902451.html">WANT a public option

b) http://act.boldprogressives.org/cms/sign/natpollresults121809/">DON'T want the individual mandate

So why is Obama and the Democratic leadership stupidly doing the opposite? How is this any different than when Obama and the Democratic leadership stupidly pushed for Bush's TARP trillion-dollar of the banks - even though the public was overwhelmingly against it?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. The people who own them say so.

:shrug:

[golfguru]

10. You got that right sis .. nt

[DCKit]

2. The fascist nanny state knows what's best for U.S..

(Fascist nanny's make Republics HAWT!!!)

[Nite Owl]

3. The insurance companies

said definitely not to the PO but they love the mandate so that's ok.
The WH wants their cooperation so they don't give all their money to the GOP instead of the dems. I love when Obama said that without the mandate the insurance companies couldn't handle covering everyone. The fact that many people will likely go bankrupt doesn't seem to get the same consideration though.

[Fresh_Start]

4. I'm guessing 2 million jobs in the industry have something to do with it

throwing another 2 million into unemployment is probably not something they can stomach right now

[brentspeak]

5. And the countless millions of Americans who will be driven over the cliff by a mandate?

Obama and the Democratic leadership can stomach that, however.

BTW, I see statistics concerning "2.3 million employees in the insurance industry", but nothing about how many are in the health insurance industry.

[Fresh_Start]

6. I couldn't find a number for health insurance industry

and I don't agree with Obama I'm just guessing the unemployment numbers are driving a lot of decisions

[brentspeak]

7. Obama should realize that the cost of health insurance is a major job destroyer

[Donnachaidh]

16. well if THAT is the case why wasn't the same done for the housing market?

Millions are out of work because THAT caved -- those jobs could have been saved. They ADD something to our society. Insurance doesn't.

The insurance industry is a cancer we can do without. Those folks know how to push paper - they'd have a far easier time finding jobs in the financial sector than the folks who are out of work from construction.

[Fresh_Start]

17. it should be obvious that they haven't been good at

predicting the results of their actions.

I'm pretty sure they expected the program to help people stay in their homes would actually help ppl stay in their homes.
But the financial companies didn't have to comply and so that process went bust.
and very few people were able to stay in their homes...

which pretty much washed out housing construction because there were too many empty homes already and no one wanted to lend money.

[Writer]

8. Why? Simply to make you unhappy, brentspeak. n/t

[Juche]

9. Because health insurance companies want the opposite

That is the real answer. That isn't bitterness or anything, but that is reality.

A public option would be cheaper than private insurance, which would drive them out of business. Plus a lack of an individual mandate would bankrupt private insurance. W/o it, people who are healthy avoid health insurance so they only cover the sick. As a result they raise rates 20% a year, causing more healthy people to drop out, leaving even sicker people.

There was a diary on KOS about this that was really good.


http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/28/841466/-A-Look-Inside-the-Health-Insurance-Industry-Death-Spiral

1. Insurance companies are inefficient
2. Large private companies decide to self insure rather than hire an insurer since it is cheaper and more effective
3. This shrinks the pool of people buying health insurance, raising rates
4. Higher rates cause more and more companies to self insure or avoid insurance altogether
5. Only the sick are left (which requires more inefficiency due to rejecting treatment), so even higher rate hikes come, and the process repeats

According to that KOS diary, private insurance should collapse in a decade. But sadly health insurance reform is going to keep them alive.



W/o an individual mandate private insurance would go out of business (since the healthy would avoid insurance). W/o a public option, they do not have any real competition (studies have shown a public option to be 5-30% cheaper than private insurance).

Those are the real reasons.

[branders seine]

11. their bosses told them to

[Raine]

12. The sold themselves to the corporations

and what they want means more to them then the voters who put them into office.

[glitch]

13. SOLD. nt

[bvar22]

14. Because, as far as Obama is concerned:

1) The People do NOT have a RIGHT to Health Care, but

2)The Health Insurance Industry DOES have a RIGHT to make a PROFIT off of sick people.
So strong is Obama's belief in the Rights of Corporations to Make a Profit that he is going to FORCE every American to contribute to these Corporate Profits every single year whether they want to or not. The Corporate Profit Contributions will be MANDATORY.
Obama will use the IRS as the Collection Agency to enforce the Profit Law.

[CBR]

15. They continue to so this same thread can be created 1000 more times. nt

[slipslidingaway]

18. Individual mandates and no PO is what the companies want. :( n/t