Not so Fast, Obama, Say Insurance Companies

The health insurance industry has some lingering doubts about President-elect Barack Obama’s health care plan.  Even though they have supported a plan that will require them to accept all applicants without regard to pre-existing conditions, there are still concerns.  The National Health Insurance Exchange is giving them issue.

The National Health Insurance Exchange would give Americans a choice between a private plan and a government sponsored plan. The premise is that by combining government sources and open market options, the insured will have more resources with which to tailor a custom plan.  The New York Times reports Tom Daschle, the incoming HHS Secretary, as stating that the government’s plan is designed around the Medicare model.

The Plan would encourage competition between itself and participating private companies.  Proponents say the competition that it encourages is likely to drive down market rates.  The insurance industry, however, says this is not necessarily true.  They argue that the opposite is true, that the government plan would likely underpay doctors for services rendered, causing private providers to raise their prices to cover their losses experienced from government plans.

Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, recently stated “A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10%, to the average premium for a family of four.”  President-elect Obama, in spite of differences, seems to be keeping his word regarding giving all parties an equal seat at the negotiating table.  This in itself is commendable.

Stephanie Cutter, spokesperson for Obama’s White House transition, recently said, “These are listening sessions.  We are trying to find people who share Obama’s goal of health care reform, even if they disagree on the specifics.”  Thousands of meetings have already been scheduled with health care reform as the subject.  All parties are being welcomed.

If you find yourself asking questions about your present <a href=”http://www.gohealthinsurance.com”>health insurance</a> predicament, not knowing where to turn for answers, then visit the web’s best known and most extensive source of advice at www.GoHealthInsurance.com to learn about available <a href=”http://www.gohealthinsurance.com/plan-finder.html”>health insurance plans</a>.

Ethan Kalvin


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

8 Responses to “Not so Fast, Obama, Say Insurance Companies”

  1. which is going to rise faster and higher under obama's plan, my insurance premiums or my taxes?
    assuming my employer doesn’t just cancel my insurance, our premiums and rates will skyrocket to cover the losses insurance companies will experience due to people abusing the system under "healthcare reform."

    likewise, my taxes are going up to help cover the cost of those same people.

    shouldn’t obama just get this over with and tax us all 100% of our income…. i mean, then i can just pay my "fair share" and be done with it.

  2. Yes they will…..
    References :

  3. Evil Lib -ertarian Says:

    Premiums, they have been the highest growth for inflation for many years.

    Congress just gave themselves another $2 trillion to borrow and they will borrow instead of raising taxes.
    References :

  4. El Tecolote Says:

    They’re going to continue to leapfrog over each other until people won’t be able to afford anything else.

    Then we’re going to see a bunch of Democrats whining about how the Republicans fvcked everything up. They’ll never admit their axis of idiots – Obama, Pelosi and Reid, had anything to do with it at all.
    References :

  5. Smells Like Socialism Says:

    They’re both going to skyrocket. It’s designed to do just that. They’re intentionally murdering the private health insurance industry.
    References :

  6. Taxes have been way too low for too long – Bush’s insane tax cuts have deeply hurt our country.
    And healthcare is projected to rise 10%, that’s instead of the usual THIRTY TO FORTY PERCENT it has been rising for the last years due to private company abuse!
    It’s projected to rise FAR LESS than it has been under your guys’ system.
    References :
    Can you see that?

  7. They will both likely rise simultaneously. Good luck to you
    References :

  8. Depends. If you are able to keep your insurance, that would be much more expensive than the current increase of taxes. On the other hand, if you lose your insurance because you lose your job or are diagnosed with a condition the company doesn’t want to treat or you use up your lifetime cap on cancer treatment to stay alive, your premiums will be zero. That what you were looking for?
    References :