AFL-CIO vs. We The People
Marybeth Juetten of the AFL-CIO has an LTE in this morning’s St. Cloud Times that’s long on DFL talking points but devoid of logic.
Members of Congress shouldn’t be confused about which way they’re going to vote on this issue. To me and other constituents, it’s clear cut: Will you stand with big insurance companies, or will you stand with us?
Working families need health care reform that will control costs, guarantee coverage and finally hold insurance companies accountable. The public insurance plan option is the best way to do that.
First, and most importantly, what assurances do we have that the Democrats’ bill will control costs? It’s more accurate to say that their legislation only hides the cost increases:
To ease the burdens of the insurance mandate, the reform proposals call for varying levels of subsidy. In some versions, such as the current Senate bill, subsidies are handed out to families with incomes as high as $88,000 a year. How long will it be before just about everyone wants further assistance, and this new form of entitlement spending spins out of control?
Families making $88,000 don’t need a subsidy, though I’m certain they’ll accept the subsidies without hesitation. After thinking this through, after putting 2 and 2 together, I realized that the Democrats’ subsidies are meant to hide the insurance premium increases.
The Democrats’ plan doesn’t control costs. That isn’t just opinion. It’s what the CBO says. What would happen if the Democrats didn’t offer subsidies for these middle class families? Isn’t it likely that the people would quickly turn on the Democrats?
What does Ms. Juetten mean when she says that the best way to “finally hold insurance companies accountable” is with a “public insurance plan option”? Doesn’t that sound like she’s suggesting that insurance companies are making too much of a profit? She says not but I’m not biting:
No one begrudges insurance companies or any other business for making a profit, but they shouldn’t be allowed to do so at the expense of families and the good of our country.
I’m not buying it because Speaker Pelosi said that their profits are obscene:
“I’m very pleased that (Democratic leaders) will be talking, too, about the immoral profits being made by the insurance industry and how those profits have increased in the Bush years.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who also welcomed the attention being drawn to insurers’ “obscene profits.”
This is what Chris van Hollen said about profits:
“Keeping the status quo may be what the insurance industry wants. Their premiums have more than doubled in the last decade and their profits have skyrocketed.” Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, member of the Democratic leadership.
The AP’s Calvin Woodward ran the numbers. Not surprisingly, the numbers tell a substantially different story:
Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.
Making a profit margin of 2.2 percent isn’t exactly making a windfall profit.
Here’s another inaccurate DFL talking point worth exposing:
After years of raising premiums, denying claims and rejecting people who need care due to pre-existing conditions, insurance companies now are playing the victim.
Actually, Medicare denies more claims than private insurance companies do. Medicare rejects 6.85 percent, followed by Aetna at 6.80 percent, then Anthem at 4.62 percent, Health Net at 3.88 percent, CIGNA at at 3.44 percent with the rest coming in in the 2’s. I’m not willing to let the insurance companies play the victim card but I’m not buying the Democrats’ assertions that insurance companies are making obscene profits, either.
After reviewing the facts, it’s impossible for me to assign any credibility to Ms. Juetten’s LTE. I’d be more inclined to think that this was just another recitation of the Democrats’ talking points.
Technorati Tags: Editorial, AFL-CIO, Talking Points, Insurance Premiums, Taxes, Health Care Costs, Profits, Medicare, Speaker Pelosi, Chris van Hollen, Unions, Democrats, Factchecking, Media
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
October 26th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Maybe I’m just a dumb country boy, but isn’t the AFL-CIO somewhere in the megagiant district as far as having money to buy votes, just like insurance biggies? So what makes them any less dangerous than those evil, greedy capitalists that just wanna make a buck? Other than the insurance companies do it with their own money, the union does it with everybody else’.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Ive seen an AFL-CIO affiliate union close up.
Every time the working stiffs they represent got a raise, the first thing the union did was increase dues; if they got a 10% pay raise, the union got 20% of it. Try to explain to the workers what was going on, that they were being scammed was like talking to a 2 year old. They either couldn’t comprehend it, or didnt want to.