OT: Insurance Industry Influence

[Guest guest]

Interesting article about insurance industry influence.

The (sarcastic) headline is " Current U.S. Health System a Success " by

Jonik, May 19, 2009.

The

existing U.S. health system is not a failure; it is a raving success,

not from citizens' point of view, of course, but from the perpetrators'.

Elsewhere

we routinely hear that the " War on Drugs " is a big flop...but again,

from the perpetrators' viewpoint, it too is a big success. It

justifies all sorts of rights violations, it kept organic hemp out of

competition with chlorine and pesticide industries, it brings in most

of the prison industry profits, it distracts from corporate crimes, and

it excuses U.S. intervention in other countries.

If

supporters of Single Payer made efforts to explain that the U.S. health

system is not a failure from the view of the Privateers, perhaps some

effective actions would be taken. It's impossible to fight something

that is not seen or recognized or discussed. It's important to know the enemy.

Along with the obvious profit reasons, the U.S. has this system because:

1)

For-profit insurers want to keep the flow of money coming in to fund

multimillion dollar investments in private industries...even some of

the most health-damaging and environmentally-destructive businesses on

the planet...such as cigarette manufacturing, tobacco pesticides,

dioxin-producing chlorine, military weapons, coal, oil, nukes,

plastics, and so on.

2)

Despite the international competitive disadvantages and the bother of

having to deal with workers' health care, the investment properties

located in the USA like the idea that, by the threat of losing health

coverage, workers are intimidated into silence and inaction about

unsafe or unfair work conditions, management fraud and environmental

law violations, harassment, and union organizing. Single payer is just

too worker-empowering.

3)

With private insurers administering the system, there is all the less

chance that the businesses in which insurers invest will be outed and

condemned, if not prosecuted, for their contributions to the plagues of

cancer and respiratory disease and all the rest...not to mention gross

disruptions of wildlife. Industrial chlorine (the only source of

dioxin for all practical purposes), being the (unnecessary) life-blood

of so many industries, may be the above-all concern. Private

insurers, of course, do not promote benign alternatives (like organics,

hemp, etc.) to chlorine despite the potential for significant health

benefits (and cost savings) across the country, if not the world.

This incestuous relationship between health-damaging industries and

those who are supposed to administer health programs goes far to

explain why so many diseases are said to be Our Fault...our diet, our

behavior, our genes, too much sun, etc., or the fault of natural things

like germs, viruses, tobacco plants, alcohol, mold, etc. etc.

(A

clue to chlorine perhaps being a top concern is that the top funders

and pushers of the " anti smoking " crusade...which utterly ignores and

distracts from pesticides and high levels of dioxin in typical

cigarettes...which works to scapegoat a natural plant and those who

think they are just smoking tobacco...are top members of the Chlorine

Cartels...pharms, pesticides, their PR firms, their agents within

government organizations, etc., etc. There are more

four-leaf clovers on the moon than there are " anti smoking " officials

without links to big chlorine and/or its insurers and investors.)

4)

Insurer investments in pharmaceuticals (even those that make tobacco

pesticides and non-tobacco cigarette adulterants) protect those pharms'

drugs from being properly researched, outed if necessary, and

removed. This conflict-of-interest ensures that health insurers and

health professionals under their umbrella will tilt towards using the

insurer's investment property's drugs over others that may be safer,

more effective and cheaper. This also pretty much ensures that there

will be little or no research on the benefits of natural drugs, certain

foods, vitamins, supplements, herbs, and " alternative " medicine.

5)

Though, tragically, there is no shortage of industry corruption of our

current " public " regulatory system, private insurers constitute a

major player in the corporate corruption of our medical health and

research system. If some true, un-compromised, public servants, free of

bonds of " proprietary secrecy, " entered the picture to fill the void

left when private insurers are removed, we may begin to see serious

research and regulatory action regarding industrial toxins and

carcinogens...one thing for-profit insurers and their investment

properties (and business insurance clients) do not want.

As

far as " non-profit " insurers are concerned, since they cannot invest,

their motives to act in pretty much the same way as the for-profits are

not as clear. Perhaps CEOs and managers have personal investments.

Perhaps they have shared board memberships. Perhaps they want to keep

their supply of insured workers that are in the health-damaging

industries. Perhaps all of the above.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Current-U-S-Health-System-by--Jonik-090518-\

190.html