Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston says a new report on health insurance industry profits shows the need for federal legislation to control health insurance rates.
The report, by Health Care for America Now! shows that health insurance companies are taking in record profits while giving consumers skimpier benefits.
“We’ve absolutely got to pass federal insurance rate review legislation in order to hold these insurance companies accountable and protect American consumers,” Schakowsky said in a statement.
She said she and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California have introduced legislation, the Health Insurance Rate Authority Act, to do that.
She says 60 organizations, including The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Consumer Federation of America and the AFL-CIO, are backing the bill.
“Today’s report shows that in the first quarter of 2010, the five largest for-profit insurers raked in a combined net income of $3.2 billion, a 31 percent increase over last year, she said.
“This is totally unconscionable. While Americans are facing double-digit rate increases, these big insurance companies are simultaneously cutting their spending on actual medical care for consumers,” she added.
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Wow…. another politician
Wow….
another politician that attacks the cure, and allows the desease to spread…..
free healthcare to low income citizens via Medicaid plus more subsidized healthcare to elderly citizens using Medicare…….
why don’t these state and Federal agencies belly up and pay their full bills for their covered patients?????????
…..rather than shift the costs to taxpayers and working people that purchase health insurance because they know it’s the right thing to do for their needs???????????
Another union-sponsored strong-arm tactic by Schakowsky
Schakowsky is on record saying she wants to put the private healthcare industry out of business by enacting a single-payer public option plan.
Schakowsky’s husband, Robert Creamer, wrote a book while in jail, advocating a plan to do just that. Creamer, a felon fresh out of jail for bank fraud, went right to work and began training volunteers at Camp Obama.
Schakowsky, Feinstein and the union-driven Health Care for America Now (HCAN) just keep pounding away at the propaganda to use the government to push aside and bury private healthcare companies that have been in existence for decades. This would equate to more government jobs, more taxes and less private industry jobs.
In fact, five of the ten top employers in Illinois are private insurance companies.
First, the Health Insurance Rate Authority Act wasn’t just introduced – it was introduced back in March as an effort to attach it to the ObamaDemcare plan. The Act failed because moderate Democrats wouldn’t go for such government intrusion (although they’re OK that the IRS will now monitor everyone’s healthcare insurance).
Second, the numbers HCAN provides is misleading. The net income HCAN cited was before taxes and other expenses.
Third, states already regulate healthcare insurance rates, and have the power to block rate increases. And what Schakowsky and Feinstein fail to mention is that rising insurance costs are because of rising drug prices, increased malpractice premiums and the increased costs of doctor and hospital treatment that result in part because of lowered Medicaid/Medicare payments. The irony here is in a roundabout way private healthcare companies are paying the gap left by lowered Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements.
Schakowsky’s press release comes on the heels of a Congressional Budget Office estimate last week that ObamaDemcare is going to cost ANOTHER $115 Billion!
Health Care for America Now is a political campaign organization that was created by the Tides Foundation, a left-wing organization that has ties to ACORN, SEIU, Apollo Alliance and Obama’s czars. HCAN donated $25 million to get ObamaDemcare passed.
It figures that Schakowsky, a union shill, is working the angles again.
A few years ago, Schakowsky supported with feet and finances the efforts of a union to take away the non-profit status of St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. I still remember the robo calls to vote against St. Francis.
It was a strong-armed tactic of Schakowsky to try and muscle the unions into the Resurrection Healthcare hospital system in Chicago. Schakowsky convinced her Democrat minions on the Evanston City Council to pass a voter referendum to take away St. Francis’ non-profit status because allegedly the hospital didn’t provide enough charity care.
Thankfully, Evanston voters didn’t buy the con, and rejected Schakowsky, the union and the City Council’s referendum.
The real question was always, "Why would the unions care how much charity work a non-profit hospital provides?
I wonder if hospitals started making good profits if Schakowsky, Feinstein, the unions and every other far left radical group would demand the government control its price structure? Where would it end? Maybe the government should enact federal legislation capping the profit percentage of all private enterprises?
Someone tell Schakowsky, Feinstein and all the other leftists to take a look at Europe. The unsustainable government entitlements coupled with excessive government regulation and control is splitting the European Union apart. There’s nobody left to tax.
It’s time longterm incumbent Schakowsky goes. She needs to spend more time with her felonious husband at home.
Vote for Republican Joel Pollack.