Health Reform: Reality or Talking Points?

(CBS)  Last week in a speech about health care reform, President Obama said, "Every year insurance companies deny more people coverage because they've got pre-existing conditions. Every year, they drop more people's coverage when they get sick right when they need it most. Every year they raise premiums higher and higher and higher."

That statement set the tone for a debate on Sunday's "Face the Nation" between Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, a political advocacy and trade association group that represents health insurance companies.

In response to Mr. Obama's statement, Ms. Ignagni said, "We believe that now is the time for health reform," adding that AHIP has been a big player in getting health care reforms off the ground.

Referring to health care bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate, she said, "This is not a situation where we're saying 'no' to health reform. We're saying if it's not affordable, then we're not going to fulfill those objectives that everybody wants to see fulfilled."

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz didn't buy Ms. Ignangi's answer.

"Unfortunately the American people can pretty clearly see that the insurance industry, led by AHIP, has refused to take 'yes' for an answer," she told "Face the Nation" anchor Bob Schieffer. "We have the elements of reform that they have called for in our legislation; we don't have the elements of reform that they have opposed. Yet they still refuse to support our legislation."

She continued, "The insurance industry, led by AHIP, is carpet bombing dozens of my colleagues with ads distorting their record, lying about what the [health care] bill does, and at the end of the day it's difficult to see the difference between the actions versus their words."

Ms. Ignagni countered that since July 2009, the men and women in the insurance industry who work to fulfill promises made to their policyholders have been unjustly vilified by members of Congress.

"We're seeing a situation where people are focusing on premium increases that are being driven by underlying costs," she said. "And people in Congress don't want to confront the underlying costs because it's hard politically to do so. Focusing on 4% of health care expenditures, which is what we represent, to basically fund a trillion dollar piece of legislation? We are kidding ourselves in terms of whether or not that will work. It won't."

Wasserman Schultz challenged the assertion that the health care legislation before Congress won't work. "Our legislation covers 31 million uninsured Americans," she said. "We'll finally bring costs down and provide security and stability to those that don't have health insurance."

She added, "You have the top five health insurance companies in America, who on average have a 56% increase in their profits while dropping 2.7 million people covered by their insurance plans.

"We have got to make sure that we cover everyone, which we do, that we provide security and stability, particularly to the small businesses," Wasserman Schultz continued. "I was standing on the security line at the airport last week and a small business owner stopped me and said that last year his insurance company raised premiums for his employees by 172% simply because he had one sick employee. Our bill will change that, to bring costs down and make sure that [costs are] manageable.

"The insurance industry essentially wants to maintain the status quo," Wasserman Schultz said. "The status quo for them is record profits, continuing to drop people and denying them coverage."

If there's no health insurance reform, she said, Americans will continue to see insurance companies with rising profits and employers having to choose between letting employees go or paying for their health insurance.

"This is the talking point of the last several weeks," argued Ignagni.

"It's reality," countered Wasserman Schultz, "not a talking point."

"Soaring premiums are being driven by two factors right now if we're talking about the individual market," Ignagni continued. "Underlying health care costs: In 2009, according to government data, health care prices are soaring, number one. Number two, in the individual market where people make a decision whether they're going to be participating or not, a bad economy has led people to drop coverage, pushing up the cost for everyone else."

[CommieHater]

This all has absolutely nothing to do with healthcare, making more accessible, affordable, or otherwise. It is simply about control. Nothing more, nothing less. KILL THE BILL!

[teabagger59]

The Democrats don?t know what is in the bill, don?t want us to know what?s in the bill or our just laying to us. Case in point: They say Medicare would not be cut. But yet they are taking 500 billion from Medicare and are using the money not once but twice. Once to help pay for Obama Care and the same 500 billion to help ?shore? up Medicare. Try paying 2 bills with the same money. The Congressional Budget Office in December of 2009 said you cannot use this accounting gimmick. But yet they continue to push it. Our leaders know you can not use the same money twice? Their real intention is to use it for Obama Care and let Medicare wither on the vine in die. If you don?t believe me look what they did to Social Security. Remember putting the surplus Social Security in a lock box to help pay when the Boomers retire. The government owes Social Security 2.5 trillion dollars with no way to pay for it. Social Security will be asking back for their 29 billion this year, 110 billion next year in billions more in the following years. I ask our leaders how this will be paid for if we are paying for health care. Congressman Hinchey, Senator Schumer and Gellibrand are leading us to a bankrupt nation. Tell them to vote NO on health care or we will vote NO for them in November.

[cleantheDCcesspool]

Obama said the "stimulus" bill would stop unemplyment at 8%. He said it would create millions of jobs. Last summer and fall he kept running out big numbers of jobs "created or saved", some of which were in non-existent congressional districts. During his campaign he said the middle class would not see any new taxes, and within a month of taking office he raised tobacco taxes. And some of you still believe his falsehoods? How can you trust or believe a single word Obama says? In fact, you should pretty much figure that the exact opposite of what he says, is going to happen. Under this bill illegals will get health care paid for by you; health care will be rationed; you will pay for others' abortions; it will cost $1,000,000,000,000 in the first decade.
And why the urgency? So we don't figure these things out before it passes?

[reasoned1955]

As if we need any further indictment of Obama's socialist/Marxist leanings, consider:

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
-Groucho Marx

[tsigili]

The truth is, the heath industry wants the plan, because it will do no real damage, to the status quo, in the health care industry.

On the other hand, National Health Care, for everyone, is to be avoided at all costs, because it will put the heath care industry, and its outlandish profiteering, out of business.

[lakota2012]

OhCry:
"When do we add tort reform?"
"Why should I not be able to shop for health insurance in any state?"
--------------------------



If you and your ilk had not been so highly-partisan and just swallowed the FAUX NoNooz propagandist's talking points, and actually had read the Senate health care bill, you would know that all major republican ideas are already in the health reform bill. Stop spewing political rhetoric!


Section 1333 allows the formation of interstate compacts.

Section 1312 allows exchanges to pool the risks of all the small businesses and individuals, giving them bargaining power akin to that of a massive corporation or labor union, which also gives insurers reason to compete aggressively for their business.

Section 1302 is entitled "Waiver for State Innovation," which gives the states the power to junk the whole health care plan -- that means the individual mandate, the Medicaid expansion, all of it -- if they can do it better and cheaper.

Section 6801 encourages states to develop new malpractice systems and suggests that Congress fund the most promising experiments. The republicans only have their usual talking point of "junk lawsuits," even though the vast majority of malpractice lawsuits are actually NOT "junk lawsuits," since the malpractice problem happens on operating tables and not in the courtrooms. Not every doctor graduates top in his/her class, and the worst doctors have been shielded by their peers.


This entire bill is a private-market plan, so the miNOrity party rhetoric of "government-run" or "government-controlled" is a huge LIE, since single-payer is off the table as well as the public option.

Stop your rightwing propaganda, since you're doing yourself and your miNOrity party a huge disservice by spreading LIES and DISTORTIONS!

[Wondering53]

Health care overhaul needs to address insurance companies backhanded increase in premiums and dropping of coverages; tort reform; fraud and abuse in Medicaid and Medicare by both citizens, doctors, and hospitals; pharmaceutical companies constant increase in the price of medicine; and limiting the ability to buy insurance by states. Obama's overhaul has become nothing more than politics for the Dems, offering special deals to certain states. Dems seem to just want it passed, no matter what is stands for now. As Pelosi said last week, pass the bill, then you can see what's in it!?!?!? She must be looney!

[lakota2012]

Your parroting the usual talking points from FAUX NoNooz is disgusting, since apparently you know nothing about the Senate health care bill passed by a super majority in Dec. Try reading the bill for a change, and in particular, Sections 1302, 1312, 1333 and 6801.

[lakota2012]

sambo12376:
"The truth about health insurers..."
-----------------------



YOU wouldn't know the TRUTH if it slapped you right upside your pointy head, and this whole debate has much more to do with overhead and administrative costs that are much higher than just their high profits. These mafioso for-profit insurance bozos skim 30% right off the top of the $2.5 Trillion health care debacle, without providing any health care -- just ugly middlemen skimmers. These for-profit insurance bozos are the ones making the health care decisions that patients and physicians should be making, regularly deny their insured the health care they need in order to raise their bottom line, and drop and deny coverage everyday.

It's much more than just their high profits, but all the other costs involved with a middleman mafioso skimmer, providing NO HEALTH CARE!

[lakota2012]

It's the billing of these for-profit insurance companies that costs doctors' offices and hospitals, with so many different forms and codings. Each doctor needs about 8 billing specialists to deal with these bozos. A typical U.S. hospital needs 400-500 billing specialists and administrators whereas the same sized hospital in Canada only needs 12 people to do the same job!

[ConstantineXIII]

The Democratic Congresswoman knows nothing about health care(nor does Obama, Pelosi, or Reid for that matter). ObamaCare will gut Medicare(resulting in rationing of care for the elderly, which yes will lead to more deaths than would otherwise happen without the Medicare cuts----funny how for years and years the Democrats terrorized Seniors by saying Republicans would cut Medicare---well Seniors look who is actually cutting it--why it's the Democrats---in fact they are even openly proud of the fact they are gutting Medicare). ObamaCare, by squeezing physician payments, will create physician shortages(because who in their right mind is going to go through the lengthy physician education requirements for little reward or compensation). ObamaCare will drive up costs(sorry but making insurance companys cover more means your premiums go up). And ObamaCare wouldn't even cover all the uninsured(funny how now the number of uninsured is now 30 million when even earlier this year and in past years the number was 47 million---moreover the alleged "benefits" don't even take effect until 4 years from now so they do nothing to help the uninsured in the near future). ObamaCare, while being sold as necessary now, doesn't even give you a "benefit" until 4 years from now but you pay taxes right now(and essentially you are paying premiums on an insurance policy like Obamacare for 4 years with nothing to show for it---would you buy an insurance policy from your insurance carrier now where you pay premiums for 4 years and get nothing in return for your 4 years of premiums---apparently Obama thinks you are stupid enough to do this). Obama has further shown totally misplaced priorities in his attempts to "reform" healthcare(why for example was it a greater priority for Obama to waste 800 Billion on pork barrel projects such as massage parlors in the "stimulus" bill when the uninsured could easily have been covered with those funds---now Obama has created the circumstance where we not only have wasted the $800 billion but he intends to create a circumstance calling for 6 trillion dollars in new spending for ObamaCare---and folks this is what it's going to cost---don't buy Obama's figures). ObamaCare, with its reckless spending, will lead to a collapse of the dollar, inflation, high unemployment and accelerate the collapse of Medicare and Social Security. ObamaCare will also raise taxes on medical devices(and this tax hits everyone rich, middle class, and poor so don't buy this lie from Obama that the middle class or poor won't be taxed by this bill). ObamaCare is also a restraint on liberty and freedom(sorry but putting people in jail for not buying health insurance is unAmerican---the uninsured are not criminals). Obama, far from being a unifier, has totally divided this country unnecessarily by his ideological rants against physicians and insurance companies and his arrogant insistence on doing things his way(we could easily by now have had some serious improvements in the system on things Democratics and Republicans agree on had Obama not approached this in such an arrogant and high handed manner---and he continues with this arrogance as he ignores the Scott Brown victory and ignores the Senate filibuster rules).
ObamaCare, by straitjacketing insurance companies, physicians, hospitals, and drug companies with high handed Washington top down regulation, will also lead to less new medicines and technologies being developed(overregulation shackles innovation). All in all ObamaCare is a total disaster and starting over is the only sane and viable option.

[askagain]

ConstantineXIII It won't surprise me if some posters respond with one liners accusing Republicans of being Un-American or Teabaggers as being disloyal or stupid. It would be great if more posters could show a better understanding of the issues instead of simply condemning those who disagree with them.

[jimbom121]

Please explain where the $6t comes from? While you are at it, why don't you explain what you would have done to try to get the economy going after financial crisis? And what would do about healthcare? The Republicans ran congress from 1995-2007 and the white house from 2001-2009...what did they do?

[wjksea]

Karen Ignagni is a sociopath. She's good at what she does. She knows she is running a racket that extracts wealth from the american people and its economy. The health insurance cartel does NOT produce an exportable, tangible product that will create quality jobs and bring wealth into this nation.

[SueZeeeQue]

You're right. The insurance companies actually suck money out of companies that do create quality jobs and make it harder for them to be profitable.