rssLieberman: The Explanation
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 1:34 pm
- 9 Comments
Here’s Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) explaining to Fox News today why he’s threatening to filibuster the Democrats’ health reform bill over the inclusion of a public insurance plan:
If the public option, the government-run health insurance company, negotiates hard to lower the reimbursement — the money it’s paying to hospitals, doctors — they’re going to have to get that money somewhere. And where they’re going to get it is from the 200 million Americans who today have private health insurance. Premiums will go up.
What Lieberman failed to mention is the other reason that insurance premiums have gone up so dramatically in recent years: the consolidation of the insurance market, which, in many regions of the country, means that the insurance giants have few competitors — and little reason to keep costs low.
Researchers at the Urban Institute this year described the trend, starting with the observation that “insurer and hospital markets are increasingly dominated by large insurers and provider systems.”
The increased concentration has made it difficult for the nation to reap the benefits usually associated with competitive markets. The consolidation in the insurance market has not led to strong insurers who are willing or able to negotiate effectively with dominant hospital systems. As a result, countervailing power on the demand side may be needed to control costs.
No matter. Lieberman says his opposition to the public option is concrete. “That’s my position,” he told Fox, “and I’m sticking to it.”
9 Comments
Pingback posted October 28, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by WashIndependent, TMC Member Feed. TMC Member Feed said: Wash. Independent: Lieberman: The Explanation: Here’s Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) expl.. http://bit.ly/3zXHFi [...]
Comment posted October 28, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
If Lieberman wants to go there, fine: I say the Democrats should respond by harping on a very simple concept for the media to digest: Insurance companies rig the system by Price Fixing—-that's a little easier to understand than calling it anti-trust.Which it is.
Comment posted October 28, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
That's an awfully long statement just to get to a single, honest point:
Premiums will go up.
Same as they always do, Joe. You should know those campaign contributions come from somewhere…
Pingback posted October 28, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
[...] Lieberman: The Explanation – http://washingtonindependent.com/65523… 39 minutes [...]
Comment posted October 28, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
I'm still wondering what would have happened between VP Lieberman and Pres. Gore after the 9/11 attacks. Would Lieberman have attempted a coup when Al decided to stay in Afghanistan rather than the reckless Bush/Cheney adventure that Joe embraced so tenderly?
Comment posted October 28, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
The lack of compitition among insurers seems to imply that there is some vast pool of money awaiting in the insurer's profit margins which can be diverted into providing healthcare…. as close as I can tell insurers have a profit margin of about $4/month/customer… probably not enough to cover the new bureauacratic option's daily coffees and latte's.
If there is a lack of competition among the insurers it would have to be laid at the doos of the state regulators who seem to pick winners and losers in the individual states…. if you allow purchases across state lines prices will fall and I think quality will rise… cut out the middle men, let the feds regulate and tell the state guys to go out and get real jobs
Comment posted November 28, 2009 @ 10:31 pm
could we ask senator Lieberman how much did he get fr that opinion?
Comment posted November 29, 2009 @ 3:31 am
could we ask senator Lieberman how much did he get fr that opinion?
Pingback posted July 17, 2010 @ 3:55 pm
[...] at den frafalne demokraten Joe Lieberman har sagt at han vil jobbe sammen med republikanerne for å stoppe den mest sentrale komponenten i Demokratenes helseplan. Hva bør man gjøre da, når det er slik at han fortsatt får feite verv [...]
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