So the $10-20 million that the insurance industry has pumped into a media campaign in the last few months to kill the bill is just a publicity stunt because they like the legislation so much.
Quote:
Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying the major health reform bills moving through Congress.
That money, between $10 million and $20 million, came from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans, UnitedHealth Group and Wellpoint, according to two health care lobbyists familiar with the transactions. The companies are all members of the powerful trade group America's Health Insurance Plans.
http://undertheinfluence.nationaljou...ed-chamber.php
|
BTW, the Exchange can also regulate (or negotiate) premiums, co-pays and administrative costs, selecting the most favorable for inclusion in the Exchange.....more in the House version than the Senate's, which as I have noted, gives far more flexibility to the states.
The anti-trust provisions, again the House version is better, would also provide the mechanism (ending anti-trust exemption) for further controls.
added:
sam...here is a good explanation of the Exchanges in the House and Senate bills:
In conclusion, if one believes the Exchanges are just a "fantasy", nothing is likely to change that.