Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) on Cigna's 92% Increase in Third Quarter Profits
BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
On the same day Cigna posted a 92 percent increase in 3rd quarter profits, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement condemning Cigna for its opposition to health care reform.
"Cigna opposes urgently needed health care reform, and today we know why. Millions of Americans are struggling to provide health care for their families, while Cigna today reported its third quarter profits had soared, nearly doubling. For Cigna, maintaining the status is a good thing – for America, it would be a disaster."
"Our health care reform bill helps the families and businesses that need affordable health care and want to stop price-gouging by insurers."
The Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, includes a number of provisions to prevent price-gouging and ensure premiums are reasonable. It requires publicly-disclosed justification of all premium increases before they go into effect and includes provisions, authored by Rep. Schakowsky, that require rate review of premiums so that excessive increases are denied.
It limits the amount of premium dollars to 15 percent that insurance companies can spend on things other than providing health care: profits, marketing, and bureaucracy. It makes health insurers subject to federal antitrust laws for the first time since 1945. And it provides funds for states to beef up their regulatory oversight. All these provisions would take effect next year in 2010.
BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
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Medical Loss Ratios
You wrote "It limits the amount of premium dollars to 15 percent that insurance companies can spend on things other than providing health care".
I noticed a temporary 15 percent limit on group plans (but not individual plans) which goes away as soon as the exchange starts, and there were also 15 percent limits applicable to Medicare Advantage insurers and certain Medicaid providers. I don't recall seeing any general limit. The overwhelming majority of people would seem to be without such protection.
Did I miss something? Where in the bill is the limit to which you referred?
In any event, medical loss ratio limits are designed to be easily circumvented. Suppose an insurer receives $100 in premiums and pays $70 of that to a hospital. To circumvent the limit the insurer can pay the hospital $85 in medical expenses, while charging the hospital $15 in processing fees.
HOPE? Nope.
And we expect the Democrats to do anything but cave in to the demands of the Republicans representing the insurance industry?
Right.
It ain't "Democrats caving in to Repubicans"...
Sorry, neo-conned, it ain't "Democrats CAVING IN to Republicans" - it is uber Right-Wing Neo-Con "DINO" (Democrat In Name ONLY) "Democrat" RAHM EMANUEL who has been SABOTAGING GENUINE health care reform are ALL ALONG, the treacherous _ _ _ does NOTHING as genuine Reform advocates ARE ARRESTED, whether out of Sen. Max Baucus "the Fix is in" Finance Committee hearings BACK IN MAY 2009 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKP05AyfRsI&feature=channel
or the Emanuel/obama White House DOING NOTHING to PUBLICIZE the plight of Connecticut voters having to get themselves ARRESTED outside of Joe Lieberthug's office protesting his equally dastardly, arrogant, BRIBED reform-killing OBSTRUCTION - http://www.connpost.com/ci_13723300
Rahm Emanuel is Joe Lieberman ON STEROIDS; imagine Lieberman 30 years younger, the point-man for GODDAMN-SACHS, NO-OVERSIGHT trillion-dollar "BAILOUTS"; the INSURANCE INDUSTRY, and the WAR LOBBY, all rolled in one - in time of trillion-dollar wars, and trillion-dollar NO OVERSIGHT "bailouts" !!!
Emanuel (and obama) are SHOVING this 1,900 page, $900 billion NO real "reform" ATROCITY down our throats, and MAKING good, "liberal" Democrats vote for exactly the kind of garbage that does NOT help the VAST MAJORITY of American families, and does make Dems look like INCOMPETENT, INEFFICIENT, CORRUPT, big-government, tax-and-spend thugs.
It is sad watching CSPAN tonight, watching so many good Democrats support this Emanuel/Baucus/insurance-lobbyist written ATROCITY, this 1,900 page monument to Obama's corruption, treachery, and deceit.