The House Will Vote to Eliminate Health Insurance’s Anti-Trust Exemption Next Week

[kpete]

Source: Firedoglake

The House Will Vote to Eliminate Health Insurance’s Anti-Trust Exemption Next Week
By: emptywheel Tuesday February 2, 2010 1:56 pm


I just got off a conference call with Speaker Pelosi. While she had a lot of optimistic things to say about the passage of a Senate plus sidecar bill, the big piece of news is that the House will pass (meaning, I presume she has the votes) a bill eliminating the anti-trust exemption for insurers and medical malpractice companies next week.

As she pointed out, the insurers have had this exemption for 65 years, and “the result has not been good” for consumers. And the only other industry that has been given such an exemption is major league baseball.

She said that, among other things, eliminating the exemption will allow the federal government to investigation collusion and price-fixing among insurers.

I presume this is one of those bills designed to force Republicans to vote to protect the insurance industry–and as such, it is good politics. I’d be even happier if there were any prospect of it getting passed in the Senate, which I doubt. It would be nice to have on more piece of leverage to exercise with the insurance industry.


Read more: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/02/02/the-house-will-eliminate-health-insurances-anti-trust-exemption-next-week/

[gateley]

1. I wish they'd vote on it TODAY -- a lot of palms can be greased between now

and next week.

And that Senate - I don't hold that this bill will force the Repubs to protect the insurance industry, ergo good politics. They've voted against the peoples' best interests consistently and they make no bones about it.

[pjt7]

2. Progressives need to rally around the best vote on this bill

for the people & make it happen in the Senate & House.

Time for Progressives to be LEADERS of a common sense solution to better health care @ affordable costs.

[No Elephants]

5. Ah, yes. Those emails and calls from taxpayers have such enormous impact in D.C.

:sarcasm:

The corporations can give much more money than we can. Money buys ads, etc. S/he who has the most money wins the election.

As long as we allow that, no one cares what we say, except those who are already Progressive. And, ultimately, they cave, as the House just finally officially did on the public option.

One definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result.

As long as we keep doing what we've been doing, what has been happening will continue happening.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. Yeah, really, is this a fund raising call? nt

[Ed76638]

3. Thats Right! Eat a dick Ben Nelson. Eat a dick.

[No Elephants]

7. Why single him out. He is by far not the only one.

[Ed76638]

9. Because he's the one who did the grandstanding and made it an issue.

[No Elephants]

24. Not the only one. He did get a lot for his vote, though.

[kestrel91316]

4. Pointless. We don't have the Senate votes to pass it. Why bother?

[No Elephants]

6. Not at all pointless. I, for one, would very much like the ayes and nays on the record.

Who has the nerve to vote to continue the monopoly the health insurers got way back when they were truly not for profit organizations? I think America deserves to have all their names, Democrats and Republicans, before the next mid-term. They should have done this with the public option, too, before they caved.

[martymar64]

13. It'll be another demonstration of the need to kill the filibuster.

The filibuster is destroying our democracy, preventing legislative business from being carried out.
It needs to go or nothing will ever change.

[Ken Burch]

19. Tell Reid to MAKE them filibuster.

Then host "Watch the Senate Fight For Their Masters on C-Span" parties as fundraisers.

[No Elephants]

25. That was my initial reaction. I am not so sure anymore.

If legislation is going to benefit mostly Wall Street, health insurers, etc., maybe the less legislation the better. Not as though the people's will has been getting carried out anymore.

[bvar22]

8. This is a rare piece of good news.

Has Nancy Pelosi asked Joe Lieberman for permission to do this yet?

[Jefferson23]

10. We'll see. n/t

[muntrv]

11. This is where health insurance reform need to start.

[defendandprotect]

14. Let's get rid of this cartel . .. either Big Pharm goes down . ..

or the Dems are going to go down --

[belpejic]

15. DO IT!

Dare the Senate and the Executive Branch to disagree!

[mzmolly]

16. GREAT to hear!

:kick:

[hollowdweller]

17. They should pass lots of bills like this

Stuff that's common sense and makes the GOP look crappy trying to defend their votes to kill them.

Then they should run craploads of negative ads against the GOP highlighting these votes.

The Dems will greatly benefit by getting the GOP on the record opposing popular or common sense legislation.

[quakerboy]

21. Yup. They have

39 weeks until the midterm, If I count correctly. Make it a media event. Plan it out. One simple bill each week. Each something that the common man can understand easily. No sausage making, no backrooms trades of a vote for this if I get that. Just Democrats passing measure after measure that the majority of this country wants desperately. Involve the president, so that it can get more airtime and has a charismatic face.

And when they are not passed in the senate, the people of this country will know exactly who and why. And that is a simple road map to a history bucking win in November, instead of losing seats. The real potential to return our country to greatness is within our grasp, even with the problems we have facing us.

[greengestalt]

32. Absolutely!

Most people desperately want the legislation he proposed in his state of the union address. One bill, one reasonable simple thing.


He said this mid-way, but I hope it's soon:

"End tax breaks and subsidies to companies that export jobs."


Tax breaks and subsidies are supposed to be "Corporate Welfare" alright, but in a way that justifies it by keeping Americans employed, not moving a job overseas where while the wage is slave labor the bribery, piracy, cost of transport and such make it a loss, then demand money to make a profit.


With the exception of "Nader", no president or candidate has even dared talk about it. Obama did it on the way in, now he's doing it while he's in.


I'd love to see the Republicans try to crush it, and they'd be ordered to by the big corporations! They'd look like such vermin, and rightly so.

[Ken Burch]

18. My message to the House:

"Screw Your Courage To The Sticking Point".

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. YESSS!

:7

[burning rain]

22. O fear & fright!

Pelosi is in league with emptywheel and the firebaggers, and no doubt the Devil!

:headbang: {HAIL SATAN!) :evilgrin:

[katandmoon]

23. Senate to the rescue!

[No Elephants]

26. I'll wait and see what happens before I get upset or enthusiastic.

[David Zephyr]

27. Well, here's something that Democrats can get done and score points against the GOP with the public.

Good move. Now ram it through.

[niceypoo]

28. And I will believe it when I see it

Thus far we have heard lots of talk, but no walk, on healthcare.

[valerief]

29. That's wonderful. Will the Senate 'middle finger' it? nt

[paulflorez]

30. call your reps, senators and president, host watching party while senate vote is made

People need to know about this. They need to know that it's happening and what the result is and who is responsible for that result. We need to make a stink about it so that at the very least our friends and family know about it, and at best the media grabs hold of it. We need to start a revolution.

[lib2DaBone]

31. We'll see if the DEMS have any backbone...

They caved in on the Bernake re-appointment... Dodd caved on Banking reform....

The amount of lobby money and corruption is incredible.. and no one seems to notice.. no one seems to care... MEH?

[quiet.american]

33. This is something I would love to see pass the House and Senate. nt

[eridani]

34. Not enough--there must be an actual public optiona as well n/t

[santamargarita]

35. Good, my (single mon) sister-in-law's premium went up 40%...

tell me that not price fixing when they're all doing the same damn thing.