The White House Blog

Who Do You Trust on Health Insurance Reform?

Ed. Note: Don’t forget, Sen. Sherrod Brown and White House economist Jared Bernstein will hold a live video chat on health insurance reform at 4:45, join the chat through Facebook or watch live through WhiteHouse.gov.

With the House having put forth their actual legislation, organizations that have withheld final judgment now have something solid to evaluate. And the floodgates have opened. 

Today the President made surprise stop by the daily press briefing to commend two particular endorsements, from the AARP and the AMA. Ask yourself who you trust to tell the truth on reform and on your health – these massive organizations of doctors and seniors throwing their support behind it, or the health insurance industry, their lobbyists, and their handmaidens coming out against it.

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey!  Hello, everybody.  Please sit down.  Good afternoon, everybody.  I wanted to come down and just talk a little bit about health care before Robert gives his regular briefing.

I am extraordinarily pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP and the American Medical Association are both supporting the health insurance reform bill that will soon come up to a vote in the House of Representatives. 

When it comes to the AARP, this is no small endorsement.  For more than 50 years, they have been a leader in the fight to reduce the cost of health care and expand coverage for our senior citizens.  They are a non-partisan organization, and their board made their decision to endorse only after a careful, intensive, objective scrutiny of this bill.  They're endorsing this bill because they know it will strengthen Medicare, not jeopardize it.  They know it will protect the benefits our seniors receive, not cut them.  So I want everybody to remember that the next time you hear the same tired arguments to the contrary from the insurance companies and their lobbyists.  And remember this endorsement the next time you see a bunch of misleading ads on television.

The AARP knows this bill will make health care more affordable.  They know it will make coverage more secure.  They know it's a good deal for our seniors.  And that's why we're thrilled that they're standing up for this effort.

The same is true for the doctors and medical professionals who are supporting this bill today.  These are men and women who know our health care system best and have been watching this debate closely.  They would not be supporting it if they really believed that it would lead to government bureaucrats making decisions that are best left to doctors.  They would not be with us if they believed that reform would in any way damage the critical and sacred doctor-patient relationship.

Instead, they're supporting reform because they've seen firsthand what's broken about our health care system.  They've seen what happens when patients can't get the care they need because some insurance company has decided to drop their coverage or water it down.  They've seen what happens when a patient is forced to pay out-of-pocket costs of thousands of dollars that she doesn't have to get the treatment she desperately needs.  They've seen what happens when patients don't come in for regular check-ups or screenings because either their insurance company doesn't cover them or they can't afford health insurance in the first place.  And they've seen far, far too much of their time spent filling out forms and haggling with insurance company bureaucrats. 

So the doctors of America know what needs to be fixed about our health care system.  They know that health insurance reform would go a long way toward doing that. 

We are closer to passing this reform than ever before.  And now that the doctors and medical professionals of America are standing with us; now that the organizations charged with looking out for the interests of seniors are standing with us, we are even closer. 

I want to thank both organizations again for their support, and I urge Congress to listen to AARP, listen to the AMA, and pass this reform for hundreds of millions of Americans who will benefit from it.  Thank you.

But Barbie dear this is America.  What's wrong with Aetna, Humana and others having biliions in profits?  What's wrong with the CEOs and other executives making hundreds of millions a year?  Look at the new unemployment numbers this morning.  These wonderful executives have helped their fabulous companies by laying employees off by the thousands while at the same time royally screwing over the people they are supposed to be insuring.  Capitalism at its finest.

Who cares what these old people at AARP think.  Whine, whine, whine that's all they can do. If they don't like their situation then they should become CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies too.  If everyone were a CEO then we wouldn't have this healthcare problem.  It's their own problem they didn't become rich like us.

How did I do googoo?  Was that dispicable enough?

  Wow, just think if eveyone was a CEO in the US we could import lot's more immigrants to do all that other unneccesary labor stuff that goes on.

 

Like the immigrants that our floundering fathers "employed"?

  Exactly, we really would be getting back to the original constitution then wouldn't we ?

kind of dumb question, like, do you trust a black widow, a scorpion, or a sidewinder. All three of the listed groups have enormous lobbies to buy their favorite politicians and media time. Face it, if they are behind it, you know it WILL line their pockets

  Yeah Iceman, but that is what makes it capitalistic.  If it was not for profit it would not be capitalism.  That is what a capitalistic government is supposed to do, take care of the elite and the corporations.

  As a capitalism fan do you want to line the pockets of  the insurance companies, or the doctors and AARP ?

Humana (HUM) is up 105% and Cigna (CI) is up 130% since March.  This is a stock market site right?  Can I comment on stocks?

Screw the old people, screw the doctors, screw the sick, the uninsured, screw the people in general.  WE'VE GOT PROFITS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Invest in these wonderful insurance companies.  Money, money, money. 

That's capitalism, right?  Screw everyone if it lines your pockets.  That is what it comes down to.

Proud to be an American.     

I think that is pretty much it.  

you are too easily fooled, aarp and ama are in bed to line their pockets too, they smell a bottomless government trough

I'm not fooled iceman.  I doubled my money on Humana in six months.  Time to take some profits, hope the Democrats prevail and watch the insurance stocks plummet.

It's all about money.

interesting but I wouldnt take it to the bank yet. the politicians are deep in the pockets of insurance

I agree 100% Iceman.  Both parties.

The House passed its bill this evening Msmagoo - Woooohoooo  .  I hope you sold your Humana when you had a chance.

MsMagoo... I had to pay closer attention to your recent gender reassignment operation because you weren't sounding as normally gooey as the Mr. does :-)

Iceman, how is it that you can be anti-capitalism programs and anti-socialism programs in the same breath? Either somebody profits, or nobody does, lol.

alex, just stating fact, it's a lose lose for the people only in a pretty wrapper to make the easily fooled believe the "EVIL" insurance companies will somehow be the fall guys. all their lobbyists are shoulders deep up the backsides of their puppet politicians and all the groups stand to make billions from this joke on the dopey taxpayers....again

I checked out the CBO analysis on the republican alternative and this bill is a whole lot better.

The CBO said the repubican version would not decrease the drain on the deficit nearly as much as the democrat bill.

The republican bill would not decrease the numbers of uninsured.

The CBO said the republican bill would still allow insurance companies to claim pre-existing condition, cancel policies even though they are paid, would allow insurance companies to raise rates on the sick and according to age etc., and would increase costs for most people over the age of 45.

The CBO also said that it would decrease quality of coverage and quality of insurance for most people.

The republican version is a bad bill for consumers, but a great bonanza for insurance companies.

 

 

And Iceman the bad thing about the democratic bill is that it will cut profits for insurance companies which will likely cause job loss in that field. That is the reason it is set to phase in in stages over time instead of right away.

Right now in this version the democrat bill will only raise taxes on individuals making over 500,000 a year, or on business making over 1 million a year. 

I know even if they can afford it, it would be better if this could be done without raising taxes on upper income,  because it will mean less hiring of contractors etc. from the elite,  but it is a case of either continuing to cost workers more, or of costing the top income more, and  most workers just can take more increases in cost of living without winding up totally dependent in later years on assistance.

We can only hope that taking some of the strain off of workers and lower income businesses will increase the purchasing power in these income levels enough to produce enough of an increase in profit for the elite thru sales that it will offset the raise in taxes on them. 

 

 

Barbara Jones:

I checked out the CBO analysis on the republican alternative and this bill is a whole lot better.

The CBO said the repubican version would not decrease the drain on the deficit nearly as much as the democrat bill.

The republican bill would not decrease the numbers of uninsured.

The CBO said the republican bill would still allow insurance companies to claim pre-existing condition, cancel policies even though they are paid, would allow insurance companies to raise rates on the sick and according to age etc., and would increase costs for most people over the age of 45.

The CBO also said that it would decrease quality of coverage and quality of insurance for most people.

The republican version is a bad bill for consumers, but a great bonanza for insurance companies.

 

 

And Iceman the bad thing about the democratic bill is that it will cut profits for insurance companies which will likely cause job loss in that field. That is the reason it is set to phase in in stages over time instead of right away.

Right now in this version the democrat bill will only raise taxes on individuals making over 500,000 a year, or on business making over 1 million a year. 

I know even if they can afford it, it would be better if this could be done without raising taxes on upper income,  because it will mean less hiring of contractors etc. from the elite,  but it is a case of either continuing to cost workers more, or of costing the top income more, and  most workers just can take more increases in cost of living without winding up totally dependent in later years on assistance.

We can only hope that taking some of the strain off of workers and lower income businesses will increase the purchasing power in these income levels enough to produce enough of an increase in profit for the elite thru sales that it will offset the raise in taxes on them. 

 

 

 

And the response from the right.............