Health insurers up as new health bill unveiled

[Joanne98]

Source: Marketwatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of health insurers rallied Wednesday after the Senate Finance Committee unveiled a health-care bill Wednesday morning that requires almost all Americans to have health insurance, but does not include a public option. Shares of HealthNet Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hnt/quotes/nls/hnt (HNT 17.20, +0.68, +4.09%) advanced 3%, UnitedHealth Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!unh/quotes/nls/unh (UNH 28.59, +0.89, +3.21%) increased 2.7%, Humana Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hum/quotes/nls/hum (HUM 39.89, +1.11, +2.86%) added 2.6%, WellPoint Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!wlp/quotes/nls/wlp (WLP 53.99, +0.83, +1.56%) gained 1.7% and Aetna Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aet/quotes/nls/aet (AET 30.68, +0.71, +2.36%) rose 1.6%. Investors have been eyeing the Senate bill as the next driver for managed care stocks, which have been volatile since the health-care reform debate heated up this summer. The $856 billion bill lays out a system of non-profit, non-government health-care cooperatives, which would compete with insurers, but not to the extent of a public option, analysts have said.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/health-insurers-up-as-...

---

Symbol Last Trade Change Volume Shrs Holdings Value Day's Value Change Price Paid Gain/Loss Related Info
- - - 100 3998.000000$3,998.00
HUM 12:07pm ET 39.98 1.20 1,171,605 100 3998.000000$3,998.00 120.000076 $120.00 3.09% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 3067.000000$3,067.00
AET 12:07pm ET 30.67 0.70 2,229,979 100 3067.000000$3,067.00 70.000076 $70.00 2.34% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 2759.000000$2,760.00
CAH 12:07pm ET 27.60 0.31 2,772,414 100 2759.000000$2,760.00 29.999924 $31.00 1.14% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 5399.000000$5,399.00
WLP 12:07pm ET 53.99 0.83 1,621,308 100 5399.000000$5,399.00 83.000183 $83.00 1.56% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 5922.000000$5,922.00
AMGN 12:07pm ET 59.22 0.74 2,465,728 100 5922.000000$5,922.00 74.000168 $74.00 1.27% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 2867.000000$2,867.00
UNH 12:07pm ET 28.67 0.97 6,248,060 100 2867.000000$2,867.00 96.999931 $97.00 3.50% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - - -
HNT 12:07PM ET 17.15 0.63 799,360 - - $0.00 3.81% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
24012.000000$24,013.00
Total 24012.000000$24,013.00 474.000366 $475.00 2.02%

[Myrina]

1. ... of course they are, they WROTE Baucus's bill ...

[depakid]

2. Getting to be about time to remove all 6 from office

and in the interim, make sure that they have little or no say on public policy.

[Cleita]

4. So, how, do you get rid of a Senator before his term is up?

Is there any provision like impeachment? Has it happened before? If there is a way, then it's time to dig deeply into their records and their dealings until an impeachable offense can be found. This is war. No more Mr. nice guy Democrat here.

[enlightenment]

9. Members of Congress are not impeachable, unfortunately.

They can remove others of their ilk, in extreme circumstances . . . otherwise, 'impeachment' takes the form of not voting the bum back into office.

[shawn703]

15. Sen. William Blount was impeached by the House

But the Senate voted to expel him and dropped the impeachment charges since expulsion was all they could do anyway. Expulsion is probably the easier way to go since it requires only one of the houses to do it. There can also be a recall election.

[enlightenment]

19. You left off the last line of that citation . . . :>)

"That set an important precedent for the future with regard to the limitations on actions which could be taken by Congress against its members and former members".

Blount served in the Continental Congress - they were still working exactly what they meant when they wrote the Constitution, which does not have a provision specifically including them.

Article II, Section 4 reads:
Disqualification

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A2Sec4


Technically, I suppose Congress critters could be impeached, as I guess them qualify as 'civil officers' . . . but Congress pretty much decided to exclude themselves (because of Blount) and that precedent stands today.

[Cleita]

3. So where are all the cheerleaders, who were calling single payer advocates

fringe loonies yesterday because we wouldn't support any bill as it was shaping up out of the Senate? I can't should loud enough, "I TOLD YOU SO!"

[Old Codger]

5. absolutely

It is a gift from heaven in their book...billions of dollars from congress to them, via us.

[Soylent Brice]

6. figures.

[bkkyosemite]

7. We need to call with our protests to the WH and Baucus office and our Congressman/women everyone

that we protest this "gift" to the insurance companies and to hell with it.

[SandWalker1984]

8. Translation: Baucus delivers for the corporations that own him

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/16/report_senator_ma...

"Montana Senator Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is the Senate’s point man on healthcare reform. A new article in the Montana Standard finds that Senator Baucus has received more campaign money from health and insurance industry interests than any other member of Congress. The article says, “In the past six years, nearly one-fourth of every dime raised by Baucus and his political-action committee has come from groups and individuals associated with drug companies, insurers, hospitals, medical-supply firms, health-service companies and other health professionals.”"


Question: Are we going to let one senator's greed deprive us all of true health care reform???

[Delphinus]

10. I *REFUSE*

to be a part of this ruse. I will *NOT* purchase insurance. I don't need health insurance - I need health CARE!

[question everything]

11. But, shares of pharmeceutical companies down

at least, the few that I own...

[pattmarty]

12. C'mon, that has to tell ya something. What I want is to put them all.............

.............out of fucking business with "Medicare for everyone".

[tomm2thumbs]

13. if they think they need to worry about forcing Republicans to do health insurance, try dems

without a public option, they are basically going to be taken to court to overturn this as forced monopoly of an industry

the lawyers will be chomping at the bit and I encourage it as no public option means forced servitude to thieves

[prolesunited]

14. Yeah!

I soon have to sell my Wellpoint shares (acquired when Anthem went to stock option although I voted against it) to pay my COBRA premiums from a WLP subsidiary. That is if my former company that's in bankruptcy doesn't completely fold within the next two months and I end up uninsured because my pre-existing conditions make me a leper on the open market.

[SandWalker1984]

16. Obama-Baucus-Clinton Corporate Healthcare Indenturement Bill

It deliberately compels us to participate economically in a system, that by it’s deliberate arbitrary design, does not afford us an equal means of reciprocation in the system but yet it punishes us economically for not participating in the system by fining us.

To those that say healthcare is a commodity and not a civil right, this, by the nature of it’s design, does not allow us the freedom to reject the private insurance commodity without being financially punished by the government.

I feel this violates our freedom to rationally choose (or freely reject) economically without suffering financially and therefore, I feel this violates our constitutional and civil rights by deliberately punishing one group unjustly.

Passing a mandate to buy private insurance, without giving us an alternative option such as Medicare, would be the same as Congress passing a law that forces us to buy a new car every 3 years from whatever car company they designate.

We've had over 8 years of corporate socialized wars that have made the Military complex and their stockholders rich beyond their dreams. Our borders to the north and south of us are wide open, yet they tell us we are fighting a war on terror.

The fact is, it is OUR money, WE back it up with our productivity and make it have value, not the suits on Wall Street or in Washington. It's useless paper they print without us.

What next?

[Babyserendip]

17. If this doesnt prove the current bill sucks....then nothign does.

We need a FULL PUBLIC OPTION>..that competes direct with the private insurers.

EOS

[glinda]

18. I am sunk as I pay for my own and have no options as they hit me with rate hikes.