Very recently, I read a small blurb in the local newspaper regarding legislation being put forth by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. His bill would overturn the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 which gives the insurance industry freedom from anti-trust laws. Oh, and lest you think that these guys ever had to play fair, this act was passed to continue this exemption after a Civil War era court decision was overturned, threatening the industry with having to endure competition.
I like to think of myself as pretty well-informed, but this was the first I heard of this little nugget. Not a great admirer of the industry, I've always assumed that they've gotten to where they are today by merely flouting laws that regulate them, much like every other large, PAC-stuffing corporation. But, no. All the time that they have been doing things like refusing to pay claims stemming from Hurricane Katrina and squealing about how "unfair" a public health insurance option would be, they've been playing with a stacked deck. When they were threatening the Obama administration with health care premium spikes if his version of reform went through, they weren't kidding. They can do whatever they want.
It was annoying enough when I thought that this industry played by the same rules as everyone else, but now I'm doubly incensed. How did they get so powerful? Since many laws, both federal and state, require everyday persons to buy insurance for all manner of things, this industry has enjoyed a perquisite like no other. Guaranteed income, and no niggling free-market worries. If you ever wondered why insurance companies are consistently housed in the most opulent buildings, here's your answer.
It's about time that these titans get knocked down a peg or two. Try to imagine how much health care would cost without the insurance companies in the mix. Quite a bit less, I think, since these guys wouldn't have embedded themselves so deeply into an industry that wasn't very, very lucrative. How will we ever find out? A public option, of course. Let's hope that our elected officials can finally see their way through the waves of cash the insurance industry will send their way and put an end to this undeserved special treatment.
I like to think of myself as pretty well-informed, but this was the first I heard of this little nugget. Not a great admirer of the industry, I've always assumed that they've gotten to where they are today by merely flouting laws that regulate them, much like every other large, PAC-stuffing corporation. But, no. All the time that they have been doing things like refusing to pay claims stemming from Hurricane Katrina and squealing about how "unfair" a public health insurance option would be, they've been playing with a stacked deck. When they were threatening the Obama administration with health care premium spikes if his version of reform went through, they weren't kidding. They can do whatever they want.
It was annoying enough when I thought that this industry played by the same rules as everyone else, but now I'm doubly incensed. How did they get so powerful? Since many laws, both federal and state, require everyday persons to buy insurance for all manner of things, this industry has enjoyed a perquisite like no other. Guaranteed income, and no niggling free-market worries. If you ever wondered why insurance companies are consistently housed in the most opulent buildings, here's your answer.
It's about time that these titans get knocked down a peg or two. Try to imagine how much health care would cost without the insurance companies in the mix. Quite a bit less, I think, since these guys wouldn't have embedded themselves so deeply into an industry that wasn't very, very lucrative. How will we ever find out? A public option, of course. Let's hope that our elected officials can finally see their way through the waves of cash the insurance industry will send their way and put an end to this undeserved special treatment.
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