The half-dozen leading overhaul proposals circulating in Congress would require all citizens to have health insurance, which would guarantee insurers tens of millions of new customers -- many of whom would get government subsidies to help pay the companies' premiums...More at the link. This article prompted me to go to OpenSecrets.org and look up donations from the Health Care sector to the last group of Presidential candidates. Here are the numbers -
"It's a bonanza," said Robert Laszewski, a health insurance executive for 20 years... the industry's reaction to early negotiations boiled down to a single word: "Hallelujah!"...
"The insurers are going to do quite well," said Linda Blumberg, a health policy analyst... "They are going to have this very stable pool, they're going to have people getting subsidies to help them buy coverage and . . . they will be paid the full costs of the benefits that they provide -- plus their administrative costs."
In May, the Senate Finance Committee discussed requiring that insurers reimburse at least 76% of policyholders' medical costs under their most affordable plans. Now the committee is considering setting that rate as low as 65%, meaning insurers would be required to cover just about two-thirds of patients' healthcare bills... Most [current] group health plans cover 80% to 90% or more of a policyholder's medical bills...
In the first half of 2009, the health service and HMO sector spent nearly $35 million lobbying Congress, the White House and federal healthcare offices, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics...
TYWKIWDBI has tried to be reasonably nonpartisan in terms of political discussions; if anything, I've been supportive of President Obama (in part because there haven't been any non-wacko alternatives). If you're reading this post and are dismayed that I'm being too critical of Obama by posting this $$ table, please read the post below this (re Bill Moyers' opinion) before commenting...