March 10, 2010 11:27 AM

Administration Continues Attack on Health Insurers

By
Mark Knoller
Topics
Health Care

(Credit: AP)
In the administration's toughest message to date to the nation's health insurance companies, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (at middle in the photo at left) is demanding they give Americans a break on the cost of health care coverage.

She wants them to take the millions of dollars they have set aside for ads against health care reform legislation "and use them to start giving Americans some relief from their skyrocketing premiums."

In remarks prepared for delivery to America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association representing nearly 1300 health insurance companies, Sebelius will urge them to "give up some short-term profits" and help "create a sustainable health insurance market where all Americans will be able to buy coverage."

"That's better for the American people and it could be better for insurance companies too," Sebelius says in excerpts from the text of her remarks, distributed in advance by the White House.

She will appeal to their conscience asking them to imagine how folks in Illinois might feel to see profits for major insurance companies went up 56 percent last year "only to get a letter the next day saying their premiums are going up by double digits."

"Can you blame them for thinking the system's broken when their health insurance - which is supposed to protect them from exorbitant health costs - still forces them to pay thousands of dollars out of their pocket each year?"

Sebelius' blunt message comes on the same day President Obama will be delivering yet another pitch for enactment of health care reform legislation.

In a speech this afternoon in St. Charles, Mo., Mr. Obama will again make the case - as he did Monday in Glenside, Pa. - that regardless of the politics, health care reform "is the right thing to do."

He will also announce a new effort to crack down on waste and fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and other government health care plans.

He will sign a memorandum to all federal departments and agencies to expand "payment recapture audits" of health care programs. That means hiring outside examiners to audit the spending by health care programs in search of waste and abuse. The examiners get to keep a portion of any abuses they detect. Bounty auditors, if you will.

The White House estimates that the program could return at least $2 billion over the next three years to the government treasury. It sounds like a worthwhile sum, but it amounts to less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the over $2 trillion the government will spend on Medicare and Medicaid over the next three years.

Today's health care speech by Mr. Obama will be the 52nd he has delivered over the last year out of 463 speeches and remarks he has given since taking office.

Health Care Backers Sound Off at Insurers

House Dems Scramble to Get Enough Votes for Health Care

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.


Add a Comment See all 15 Comments
by riptide213 March 11, 2010 4:20 AM EST
Swindle.

Verb use, deception to obtain tax money or deprive law abiding citizens of tax money.

Noun, a fraudulent scheme or action.

DERIVATIVES, swindler noun.

Also see tell lies, politician, special interest, big business, cronyism.
Reply to this comment
by MADDAT52 March 11, 2010 1:25 AM EST
Fact that I had forgotten about. The block purchasing of health care by all government and non-government unions is what went wrong with our health insurance in America. No one seems to be pointing the finger in the right direction. Maybe you could spread the word on this un-exposed reality.
Everything that comes from the left is crowding out the individual and forcing us into groups. WHY?
Reply to this comment
by retm-w March 10, 2010 9:02 PM EST
Sebelius another tax cheat just like Gietner. Has no experience in the health industry, yet Obama makes her Health and human services secratary. No wonder there are so many problems with this administration. The blind leading the blind.
Reply to this comment
by hateisafourletterword March 10, 2010 8:41 PM EST
In an unrelated story taxpayers are demanding a break from the oppressive U.S. government on their taxes.

The government reply is too bad shut up and pay.

Must be nice to be able to be the judge and executioner government.
Reply to this comment
by rykatspop March 10, 2010 8:31 PM EST
Wendell Potter, former CEO of CIGNA, resigned from the insurance giant because it was profiteering by denying, restricting health care to patients. He toured his state, found thousands of decent Americans suffering at the hands of his company. Those who could wait in long lines for hours, got basic care at clinics held in parking lots, warehouses, trailers. He has worked tirelessly to make medicine more accessible to the poor. The poor being: men, women and children of America.

His view is that the industry will never reform as long as it can raise premiums, deny coverage, reduce its obligations while increasing its record profits. He goes on to say that the insurers are making huge profits by denying care to the sick and or older population.

Don't believe me? Go to Bill Moyers Journal and see the interview for yourself. This isn't some hippie dippy guy. He's a corporate type that has come to his senses--and got honest.

What's more: he says the insurers hide behind groups like the chamber of commerce and other lobbying groups. It has these pawns do its dirty work and attack reform with smear tactics and ads. Shameful.
Reply to this comment
by 1914rulebegan March 10, 2010 8:02 PM EST
Looks like The Democrats will use the "self executing rule" pass the changes to the health care bill with out having to vote on the Senate version under this rule . The Senate vertion will automatically have been deemed to pass when they pass the changes. Pretty slick huh? By the way of the 6 contemporary uses of the self-executing rule only one of them was done by a session of Congress that was controlled by the Democrats (101st session). The other five instances were carried out by sessions that were controlled in both chambers by Republicans (104th, 105th and 109th). Fair is fair.
Reply to this comment
by Really1question March 10, 2010 2:20 PM EST
So, United Health's $859,000,000 reported QUARTERLY profit (either 1st or 2nd, I can't remember) from 2009, would suggest that they made close $3.5 billion in PROFIT in 2009, but let's round down to $2.5 for a conservative estimate of PROFIT (for only one company, but I'll just use that number even though industry wide this isn't even close to a total). So, if it takes $2.5 billion for 45 minutes of USA health coverage, your math would suggest it would take $29,200,000,000,000 per year. And that's just using one of dozens on dozens of health insurance companies. Exaggerate much?

Sloppy exaggeration makes your arguments seem childish. That's part of the problem here on both sides - hyperbole distorting the discussion. Come on now, we should know we need reform.
Reply to this comment
by frankieboog March 10, 2010 12:47 PM EST
So these "Evil" rich people keep making money. Insurance companies make 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 percent profit based on the most recent numbers. How are they screwing the American People. Libs and Leftists need to get a new argument. Lets propose that American people be Self Sufficient and be responsible for themselves, with helping the TRULY needy people, and stop taking money from every other American citizen to pay for these gov't programs that have been proven to not work or going broke
Reply to this comment
by The_Only_King March 10, 2010 12:43 PM EST
The vast majority of the American people are against Obama's health care takeover and his administration. Obama and his admininistration continue to attack the American people and their freedom. It's time to stand and fight.
Reply to this comment
by Onfyre March 10, 2010 12:33 PM EST
Insurance Companies as well as hospitals are the villains. Hospitals charge what they want, greedy insurance companies pay it and they raise your rates. Hospitals charge $20.00 for an Advil, insurance companies pay without question. What about those of us that are healthy, don't smoke, play by all of the rules, but our insurance continues to cover less while our premiums go up and nothing is said about it. Why is it that my insurance cost $90.00 a pay check, but if I add a dependent it sky rockets to $420.00 a pay check? Rediculous
Reply to this comment
by retm-w March 10, 2010 9:09 PM EST
Onfyre

You can't mention the Hospitals, Drug Companies or Doctors costs. Obama cut deals with all of them, so hands off on their costs. It's the evil insurance companies. If you lower the other three's cost and throw in tort reform, doesn't it make sense that insurance premiums would come down. But with all the backroom deals going on who knows what is going to happen.
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