The most important part of the House bill: it strips the insurers' anti-trust exemption

[andym]

That will have profound negative effects for them. They will try to defeat this at any cost.

[uponit7771]

1. Someone PLEASE tell me why the Failers are bitchin now?! Please? Thx

[Connie_Corleone]

4. Just looking for anything negative to have a fit over.

Because the public option isn't exactly the way they wanted it, therefore the whole bill stinks.

I, personally, think it's a great step forward. Medicare and Social Security had their growing pains over the years too.

[Skittles]

20. here ya go

get a fucking clue

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6884040&mesg_id=6884040

[Honeycombe8]

13. Because it doesn't give everyone a pony? nt

[FrenchieCat]

16. Because if they are proven wrong, they will lose face.

So they just keep finding things wrong, and that way they look right, till they don't.

Hell, most of them are back to Single Payer......
when they KNOW it ain't what the bill will have in it,
That way they are guaranteed to be pissed.
Making them feel better somehow...to be against progress,
but to look like they are for progress.
Kind of like that UP is DOWN thingie.

[Cant trust em]

2. Also allows for purchase across state lines. nt

[burning rain]

12. That's one of the changes Republicans largely favor.

Not coincidentally people with policies from other states have little legal recourse.

[theophilus]

3. But,but,but......so many on DU say this bill stinks. I think this would be great. n/t

[fascisthunter]

5. it does

[uponit7771]

6. Pray tell WHY does it stink? Thx in advance

[Skittles]

21. here ya go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6884040&mesg_id=6884040

[Scarsdale Vibe]

22. The rest of us are talking about the entirety of the bill, not one small portion.

How will the entire bill make the people of this country worse off? Is it the expansion of Medicaid? The subsidies for buying insurance? The doubling of Community Health Centers? The comparative effectiveness research? The expansion of preventative and wellness medicine? The abolishment of pre-existing conditions, rescission, and lifetime limits? The establisment of a public option to compete against health insurance companies? The surtax on millionaires? The creation of a health-insurance exchange to drive down costs? The immediate creation of a high-risk nationwide pool to help those denied by insurance companies? The removal of anti-trust exemption for health insurance companies?

The bill is far better than the status quo, and anyone arguing otherwise is misinformed, disingenuous, or an idiot.

[Skittles]

25. is that what you call an insurance wet dream

a "small portion" ?

[johnaries]

27. Debunked. Here YOU go!

The rebuttal from Rep. Eshoo. The legislation was originally sponsored by Ted Kennedy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-anna-eshoo/setting-the-record-straig_b_340106.html

[Posteritatis]

10. Large chunks of it do, but this? This is great. (nt)

[mvd]

7. I was glad to see that part in

The bill is neither a disaster or as good as it should be with the Democrats in the majority.

[andym]

8. Agreed-- it could have been MUCH better

with Medicare+5 (or even better Medicare for all), but it will clearly have some good effects.

[backscatter712]

9. Taking away their anti-trust exemption may have more of a long-term effect than the public option.

The public-option's getting watered, and while it's important, will probably make it in in some form, and will certainly be helpful, bringing the anti-trust hammer down on the insurers, forcing them to compete, and breaking up the monopolies will do wonders to bring prices down, drive them to quit treating their customers like shit, and improve life in general.

And the beautiful thing is that while the GOP's managed to lie and obfuscate about the public option, the amendment to take away their anti-trust exemption seems to have sneaked in under their radar, and the GOP has yet to come up with even a plausible bullshit defense.

The insurers could use the legalized bribery game to try to take this provision out, but if we yell hard enough, Congress will be under huge pressure to not budge. Everybody hate insurance companies, but they can't accuse anti-trust legislation of being socialist - that won't pass the laugh test.

[Beetwasher]

11. One Might Say The PO Debate Served As Great Cover

The anti Trust regs got in w/ nary a peep. Almost as if the industry were caught off guard and completely unprepared to fight it. Funny thing that. Kinda maybe sorts like a bit of strategery. Nah, impossible. Politicians would never engage in that.

[polichick]

14. This is indeed critical. nt

[Vidar]

15. K&R

[Jim Lane]

17. Even with the exemption gone, antitrust cases can be hard to prove.

Just because they're not allowed to collude doesn't mean they won't, and it doesn't mean that they can be caught and brought to justice within any reasonable time frame.

I'm glad to see this provision in the bill. I'm not so confident about the effects being "profound", though.

[andym]

19. Depends mostly on whose running the anti-trust division of the justice dept.

A strong "trustbuster" makes all the difference, both to the focus of the division and their success rate.

If as we presume, insurers are colluding now, they will need to take significant steps to break off their collusion after the exemption is repealed.

If they take no visible steps, and given a presumptive history of collusion before the new law had been passed (which can be verified by retired or ex-employees), it shouldn't be difficult to obtain the necessary evidence.

[merh]

23. Not with the insurance companies

They are so used to colluding that they won't know how not to.

Other corporations have had more experience getting around the law.

[backscatter712]

24. I'll agree with that.

Their misconduct will turn out to be so blatant that an anti-trust case will be like shooting fish in a barrel.

[eridani]

18. That's a good thing, but it isn't worth the bullshit mandates n/t

[Kitsune]

26. Odds are it'll come out in conference.

Can't do anything that might cost our insurance overlords any money while we feed the American people into their squamous, quavering maw, can we?

:sarcasm:


This whole thing is such a joke...