Are Health Insurers Writing Health Reform Regulations? by Wendell Potter

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/05-11

One of the reasons I wanted to return to journalism after a long career as an insurance company PR man was to keep an eye on the implementation of the new health reform law. Many journalists who covered the reform debate have moved on, and some consider the writing of regulations to implement the legislation boring and of little interest to the public.

But insurance company lobbyists know the media are not paying much attention. And so they are able to influence what the regulations actually look like -- and how the law will be enforced -- with little scrutiny, much less awareness.

At a January meeting of several hundred patient and consumer advocates in Washington, a top aide to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius all but pleaded with those in the audience to bombard the Obama Administration with messages insisting that the law be implemented as Congress intended. Rest assured, he told them, that the insurance industry's lobbyists were relentless in their demands that the regulations be written to give them the maximum slack.

One example: a section of the law expanding the rights of consumers to appeal adverse decisions made by their health plans.

More at the link --

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[AdrianInOcala]

2. Of course they are

look at the exemptions and the things left out of 'healthcare reform' last year. Do it like it's done here in the UK regulate everything from what they can charge per pill to what is or isn't covered by NHS. A point that the anti reformers don't want you to know is that we have private insurance here, not everyone is on NHS, many benefits that employers provide, include some sort of private health insurance.

[jtrockville]

3. Well, they're the biggest beneficiary of the legislation.

We the people were tossed a few crumbs to keep us quiet, but mostly it's about protecting industry profits.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. Don't stop there: polluters control EPA; oil controls energy; banks control fin regulation...

[fascisthunter]

5. and how many people died for their industry to make profits?

sick and evil do come to mind.