Re: OT: Healthcare Insurers Get Upper Hand

[Guest guest]

That's 35 million from our insurance premium payments. Not to mention

the billions of our money given to the CEO's.

Amy

Harald Weiss, Technical Marketing Group wrote:

>

>

> From the front page of this morning's Los Angeles Times. I have

> removed some of the paragraphs to shorten the article.

>

> HEALTHCARE INSURERS GET UPPER HAND

>

> Obama's overhaul fight is being won by the industry, experts say. The

> end result may be a financial 'bonanza.'

>

> By Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger

> August 24, 2009

>

> Some insurance company leaders continue to profess concern about the

> unpredictable course of President Obama's massive healthcare

> initiative, and they vigorously oppose elements of his agenda. But

> Laszewski said the industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled

> down to a single word: " Hallelujah! "

>

> The insurers' success so far can be explained in part by their

> lobbying efforts in the nation's capital and the districts of key

> lawmakers.

>

> " The insurers are going to do quite well, " said Blumberg, a

> health policy analyst at the nonpartisan Urban Institute, a

> Washington think tank. " They are going to have this very stable pool,

> they're going to have people getting subsidies to help them buy

> coverage and . . . they will be paid the full costs of the benefits

> that they provide -- plus their administrative costs. "

>

> Consumer and labor advocates acknowledged the industry's lobbying success.

>

> In the first half of 2009, the health service and HMO sector spent

> nearly $35 million lobbying Congress, the White House and federal

> healthcare offices, according to data from the Center for Responsive

> Politics.

>

> With more than 900 lobbyists, that sector -- whose top spenders are

> insurance giants UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna --

> was poised to spend more than in 2008, a record lobbying year.

>

> UnitedHealth spent the most, $2.5 million in the first half of 2009,

> and hired some of Washington's most prominent political players,

> including Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who served

> as an informal health policy advisor to Obama.

>

> " They have beaten us six ways to Sunday, " said Gerald Shea of the

> AFL-CIO. " Any time we want to make a small change to provide cost

> relief, they find a way to make it more profitable. "

>

>

[Guest guest]

I thought this was a very interesting article until I read comments by AFL-CIO,

I don't trust a thing they say/do, I'm not saying the insurers are held in the

highest esteem but for me they are still in better standing than AFL-CIO

Sue

---- Evanesce@... wrote:

> That's 35 million from our insurance premium payments. Not to mention

> the billions of our money given to the CEO's.

> Amy

>

> Harald Weiss, Technical Marketing Group wrote:

> >

> >

> > From the front page of this morning's Los Angeles Times. I have

> > removed some of the paragraphs to shorten the article.

> >

> > HEALTHCARE INSURERS GET UPPER HAND

> >

> > Obama's overhaul fight is being won by the industry, experts say. The

> > end result may be a financial 'bonanza.'

> >

> > By Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger

> > August 24, 2009

> >

> > Some insurance company leaders continue to profess concern about the

> > unpredictable course of President Obama's massive healthcare

> > initiative, and they vigorously oppose elements of his agenda. But

> > Laszewski said the industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled

> > down to a single word: " Hallelujah! "

> >

> > The insurers' success so far can be explained in part by their

> > lobbying efforts in the nation's capital and the districts of key

> > lawmakers.

> >

> > " The insurers are going to do quite well, " said Blumberg, a

> > health policy analyst at the nonpartisan Urban Institute, a

> > Washington think tank. " They are going to have this very stable pool,

> > they're going to have people getting subsidies to help them buy

> > coverage and . . . they will be paid the full costs of the benefits

> > that they provide -- plus their administrative costs. "

> >

> > Consumer and labor advocates acknowledged the industry's lobbying success.

> >

> > In the first half of 2009, the health service and HMO sector spent

> > nearly $35 million lobbying Congress, the White House and federal

> > healthcare offices, according to data from the Center for Responsive

> > Politics.

> >

> > With more than 900 lobbyists, that sector -- whose top spenders are

> > insurance giants UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna --

> > was poised to spend more than in 2008, a record lobbying year.

> >

> > UnitedHealth spent the most, $2.5 million in the first half of 2009,

> > and hired some of Washington's most prominent political players,

> > including Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who served

> > as an informal health policy advisor to Obama.

> >

> > " They have beaten us six ways to Sunday, " said Gerald Shea of the

> > AFL-CIO. " Any time we want to make a small change to provide cost

> > relief, they find a way to make it more profitable. "

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My best friend is an executive with a HUGE health insurance company.

According to the friend, the insurance companies are wanting this health

care bill to pass, they

want it to pass, because they are going to make fortunes on it. I was

told this about 3 weeks ago, and was a bit surprised. This confirms it.

It's all more of the same. If it comes from the rulers (government), it

stinks.

Diane

________________________________

From: rheumatic [mailto:rheumatic ] On

Behalf Of Evanesce@...

Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:31 PM

rheumatic

Subject: Re: rheumatic OT: Healthcare Insurers Get Upper Hand

That's 35 million from our insurance premium payments. Not to mention

the billions of our money given to the CEO's.

Amy

Harald Weiss, Technical Marketing Group wrote:

>

>

> From the front page of this morning's Los Angeles Times. I have

> removed some of the paragraphs to shorten the article.

>

> HEALTHCARE INSURERS GET UPPER HAND

>

> Obama's overhaul fight is being won by the industry, experts say. The

> end result may be a financial 'bonanza.'

>

> By Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger

> August 24, 2009

>

> Some insurance company leaders continue to profess concern about the

> unpredictable course of President Obama's massive healthcare

> initiative, and they vigorously oppose elements of his agenda. But

> Laszewski said the industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled

> down to a single word: " Hallelujah! "

>

> The insurers' success so far can be explained in part by their

> lobbying efforts in the nation's capital and the districts of key

> lawmakers.

>

> " The insurers are going to do quite well, " said Blumberg, a

> health policy analyst at the nonpartisan Urban Institute, a

> Washington think tank. " They are going to have this very stable pool,

> they're going to have people getting subsidies to help them buy

> coverage and . . . they will be paid the full costs of the benefits

> that they provide -- plus their administrative costs. "

>

> Consumer and labor advocates acknowledged the industry's lobbying

success.

>

> In the first half of 2009, the health service and HMO sector spent

> nearly $35 million lobbying Congress, the White House and federal

> healthcare offices, according to data from the Center for Responsive

> Politics.

>

> With more than 900 lobbyists, that sector -- whose top spenders are

> insurance giants UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna --

> was poised to spend more than in 2008, a record lobbying year.

>

> UnitedHealth spent the most, $2.5 million in the first half of 2009,

> and hired some of Washington's most prominent political players,

> including Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who served

> as an informal health policy advisor to Obama.

>

> " They have beaten us six ways to Sunday, " said Gerald Shea of the

> AFL-CIO. " Any time we want to make a small change to provide cost

> relief, they find a way to make it more profitable. "

>

>