Obama Threatens Insurers' Anti-Trust Exemption

Obama Threatens Insurers' Anti-Trust Exemption

www.nytimes.com

President Obama mounted a frontal assault on the insurance industry on Saturday, accusing it of using “deceptive and dishonest ads” to derail his health care legislation and threatening to strip the industry of its longstanding exemption from federal antitrust laws.

In unusually harsh terms, Mr. Obama cast insurance companies as obstacles to change interested only in preserving their own “profits and bonuses” and willing to “bend the truth or break it” to stop his drive to remake the nation’s health care system.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Rather than trying to curb costs and help patients, he said, the industry is busy “figuring out how to avoid covering people.”

“And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exemption from our antitrust laws,” he said, “a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing.”

I don't know the reasoning behind the insurance industry's anti-trust laws exemption, but if they have a good, legal rationale behind it, then Obama should never threaten them with losing it. This is the definition of blackmail.

On the other hand, if they don't have a good, legal rationale behind it in the first place, they should definitely take it away from them regardless of their stance on Obama's healthcare reform.

This is overt, in-your-face, Chicago-style blackmail to squash any objections. The two issues should never have been linked and, to be quite honest, I'm surprised that they made this public.

www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


The insurance companies have been playing dirty in this debate the whole time. They have accused Obama of: being a Nazi, trying to kill off all the old people, being a communist, and treason.

Obama is now committing "blackmail" because he is suggesting that legislation that favors health insurance companies should be changed? Any American, including the president, is well within his rights to advocate a change in the law.

Typical Obama. Can't take criticism so he has to make threats. Doesn't he realize he is a president now and this isn't back on the block, crying 'give me my ball I am going home'. What a pathetic cry baby!

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


The question is why there is an anti-trust exemption in the first place.Those against health care reform yell and scream that it all should be decided using free market principles. Well it turns out that it hasn't been a free market for a long time.

I fully expect all you free market , anti- health care reform folks, to stand up for your beliefs and support the removal of the anti trust exemption. Failure to do so invalidates your entire case.

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

 

The insurance companies have been playing dirty in this debate the whole time. They have accused Obama of: being a Nazi, trying to kill off all the old people, being a communist, and treason.

Obama is now committing "blackmail" because he is suggesting that legislation that favors health insurance companies should be changed? Any American, including the president, is well within his rights to advocate a change in the law.

That's not what I said. Read it again.

What I am saying is that taking anti-trust exemption away from them should never, ever be linked to whether or not they agree with him on healthcare reform. If their exemption should be taken away because of some other reason then so be it.

Originally posted by sligtlyskeptical
reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

 

The question is why there is an anti-trust exemption in the first place.Those against health care reform yell and scream that it all should be decided using free market principles. Well it turns out that it hasn't been a free market for a long time.

I fully expect all you free market , anti- health care reform folks, to stand up for your beliefs and support the removal of the anti trust exemption. Failure to do so invalidates your entire case.

Absolutely agree with you here. I didn't even know they had an anti-trust exemption. Why would they? Remember I said this...

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman

On the other hand, if they don't have a good, legal rationale behind it in the first place, they should definitely take it away from them regardless of their stance on Obama's healthcare reform.

[edit on 17/10/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

Why is it that you guys will attack Obama for everything he does? Everyone is in America is getting screwed by the Insurance companies, how can you side with them on anything? I realize you voted for the other guy, but you've got to realize all partisan politics are a distraction. The real enemy is the corporations that are running our lives. Let's take down the Federal Reserve and remember that Obama/Mccain/Bush/Snowe are all just puppets, the bank's and money masters are pulling the strings. Divide and conquer is all they want, DONT FALL FOR IT! We are all Americans.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

I have to agree to previous posters that despite your disclaimer, you are accusing the president of "blackmail" even though you agree that the medical industry should not be exempt from anti-trust laws.

That's messed up, my friend.


Obama is right in this case and if I were him, I wouldn't just make a threat. I would push for this exemption to be eliminated.

I finally agree with Obama on something. NO COMPANY should be able to circumvent anti-trust laws. Monopolies are BAD for the free-market. While I may not agree with Obama's premise on healthcare, insurance companies are a bunch of liars and they play with people's lives for profit, on top of that they get special treatment by our government, like anti-trust exemption.

Just read the article, he is "threatening" but no where it said that he will stop the anit-trust exemptions.

This sounds like a whole bunch of propaganda, is not way that private health care insurances are going to offer services if they are not getting profits for those services.

If that was the case it will not be any business in health care at all.

I see the story been blow out as a big deal but the truth is that I don't see anywhere that Obama is actually reversing the exemption.

So much deception, remember people nobody works for free in the land of opportunities and capitalism, health care insurances will be making profits regardless.

reply to post by marg6043


Profits aren't the problem. Playing with people lives for profit and government enabling of such is. I'm going to have to give it to Obama on this one, and hope that he goes a step further, and makes this exemption go away.

[edit on 17-10-2009 by projectvxn]

reply to post by projectvxn


The exemption is not going away, and beside just think about it, why the big deal about the private health care insurance now, with the health care reform that the only thing is going to do is force all of us tax payer into getting private insurance by mandate, forcing us to pay for the support of private insurers.

Just take a minute and think about it, if the government was so much into helping the people it would have taken care with regulation when it comes to predatory practices that this insurances has been doing for years.

But now is a big deal but at the same time the government is going to pass laws that will make us servants to their services or else.

Deceptions, nothing but deceptions, in our nation of the USA we the people are nothing but milking cows to the government and now we will be to private insurance companies regardless.

Anyway, why is the president even having any discussions with health care insurances on a matter that is suppose to benefit the people, the talks should be we us the tax payer and voters not with the private insurers, after all we are the ones that will be penalized and fees will be assessed to us.

reply to post by marg6043


Agreed. All the more reason to take some of the Republican reforms into consideration. Like allowing competition across state lines. Removing their exemption from anti-trust laws would help drive costs down. At this point, I'm done taking the non-participatory route. I have been engaged in these discussions with policy makers for months now, and a lot of good ideas are being seriously considered or implemented for the final version of the bill. I do agree that a mandate to buy insurance should NEVER be considered as this will leave A LOT of people hanging out to dry. But I think we need to engage in this debate rather than fight any idea whatsoever.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


might want to read up a bit, as michelle obama made millions in the health care buisnes on the same tactics!

reply to post by projectvxn


Remember that America unemployment is raising and is not stopping right now, that means more people that will not even have the money to pay for mandatory health care reform and where this people are going to go.

Because no bill addresses this littler fact.

Still giving the right to private insurance companies the be the sole providers of mandatory health care for the people is not going to make anything change at all, after all what we got is penalties and fees for not playing nice, the private health care insurance do not, once we are under their power, like usual the government will turn the head the other way and we will be reaped off as usual.

Why people can not understand this is beyond me.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


You are right. If there is no rationale for anti-trust exemptions and the President is using it to leverage insurance companies then that exemption is flawed to begin with. It sounds like the President knows someone along time ago helped insurance companies avoid anti-trust laws so that they could monopolize the industry. The President must know then that to remove those anti-trust exemptions and make them compete without collusion would spell disaster to locking the market with high priced drugs and extended patent protections. Really, Obama could just remove the anti-trust exemptions and prohibit extensions of drug patents and accomplish the same healthcare reform he is advocating. Albeit, option one is government control of the healthcare system, option two remove all benefits of insurance companies and drug manufacturers and make them compete in a free market system. Unfortunately, Obama wants the regulated system.

reply to post by marg6043


I understand this quite well. Which is why I addressed it. I don't believe mandatory health insurance is feasible and should never be considered because we are not vehicles and we can't leave our bodies at home, lol.

reply to post by projectvxn


I tell you, is so hard to see the truth from the deceptions, taking into consideration how our own government has been screwing us so much I have to see everything with a magnifying glass.

So far nothing that has been done in this nation in a long time has been for the benefits of us the regular tax payer and regular citizens.

After our own government forced us to pay for the wealthy in the nation to become even more wealthy what else can you expect coming from Washington.

I see the health care reform without a public option that anybody can chose if they want it nothing but another bailout this time for the insurance companies.

reply to post by marg6043


I've made this same argument a million times after reading what these people are doing, it is just a give away to insurance companies so that they can reap the benefits of government mandates...How the hell Americans can allow the government to mandate anything is beyond me...We're not subjects damn it, Obama doesn't have a crown on his head, we are citizens, and we are free.