Alexander on public health care plan: ‘It’s like putting an elephant in the room with some mice.’
Alexander on public health care plan: ‘It’s like putting an elephant in the room with some mice.’
As part of President Obama’s push to reform health care, he has made it clear that he supports creating a public plan that would compete with private health insurance plans. In response, the health insurance lobby group AHIP has insisted that such competition would be “potentially lethal” to their industry. Republican Conference Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is now making their arguments for them, likening the competition between private and public health insurance to mice trying to compete with an elephant:
“It’s a big problem,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) said. “It’s like putting an elephant in the room with some mice and saying, ‘Okay fellas, compete.’ There wouldn’t be any mice left after a while.”
Alexander’s nonsensical analogy aside, Igor Volsky recently explained the actual impact of having a competing public plan, writing, “In an environment where private plans are forced to compete with a new efficient public program, inefficient, over-bloated insurers will go out of business, but private plans with good networks of providers or better services will continue attracting new enrollees.”
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In response, the health insurance lobby group AHIP has insisted that such competition would be “potentially lethal” to their industry.
Well yes, that is the idea.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:41 amIt is the purpose of the Congress to preserve and protect the profits and privileges of the corporations. If the public good is served, too, well, shit happens…
May 6th, 2009 at 10:43 amIn a capitalist system if you can’t compete you go out of business. If the insurance industry is superior then they should have nothing to fear from a public plan.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:45 amSo the Health insurance industry is just itty bitty helpless mice?
May 6th, 2009 at 10:46 amFirst, the health insurance companies are not mice..they are huge RATS. So we put the elephant in the room, this is called competition. The rats either compete or die. It is called free market, you know that thing the Republicans have been shoving down our throats for the past 30 years. I guess all that hoopla from the Republicans about protectionism was also all lies. They cannot jump on the protectionist bandwagon fast enough to protect the health insurance rats. MORE HYPOCRISY FROM THE PARTY OF NO!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:47 amWhy don’t the rethugs and the industry geniuses figure out why they have been such failures? If they are afraid of competition, are they really for a free market? I believe, as do the majority of citizens, that I and everyone else should be able to afford medical care. Period. To hell with profits. We are all going to eventually be sick and die. Learn to deal with the sure thing.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:50 amRepublicans always praise the virtues of capitalist competition when pushing for deregulation of the energy industry (Enron) or the financial industry (Lehman Bros., AIG, BOA and so on). Now when their wealthy and influential constituents face competition they are sure to lose because their product is inferior, Republicans are suddenly born again protectionists.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:51 amstewarjt Says:
Republicans always praise the virtues of capitalist competition when pushing for deregulation of the energy industry (Enron) or the financial industry (Lehman Bros., AIG, BOA and so on). Now when their wealthy and influential constituents face competition they are sure to lose because their product is inferior, Republicans are suddenly born again protectionists.
Well said!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:54 amNow that GOP party identification is down to 21 percent, I think the competitive abilities of elephants may be overrated.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:55 amIt’s not an elephant in the room, because elephants are afraid of mice and they are Republicanics. It’s a donkey – a kick-a** Democratic donkey. And those mice better quit eating all the grain or get their a**es kicked.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:57 amHaven’t you heard of “Tonik”, its the rad health insurance plan for our EXXTREME generation! Their plans cover all walks of life (assuming that life is truly GNARLY!)
(Actual plan names)
1. Thrill Seeker (AKA Tonik 5000)
2. Part-Time Daredevil (Tonik 3000)
3. Calculated Risk Taker (Tonik 1500)
So yeah, if you live life like you’re in a Mountain Dew Commercial 24/7, get hip to Tonik!!!!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:59 amI understood the credo of the Republicans to be that private enterprise can always provide better solutions than the government. Why are they unwilling to allow private enterprise to compete with the government in this arena?
FedEx seems to do an okay job despite their being a United States Postal Service. There are plenty of charter bus, car, and taxi services despite the city providing public transportation.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:59 amGuido, what’s insurance insurance? I used to be in the industry, but I never heard of that scam before? Is it new?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:00 amAlexander on public health care plan: ‘It’s like putting an elephant in the room with some mice.’
– - Geeze, the GOP is not only irony-deficient, they’re analogy ignorant.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:01 amfletc3her Says:
I understood the credo of the Republicans to be that private enterprise can always provide better solutions than the government. Why are they unwilling to allow private enterprise to compete with the government in this arena?
FedEx seems to do an okay job despite their being a United States Postal Service. There are plenty of charter bus, car, and taxi services despite the city providing public transportation.
Very good point! Private industry competes against government in many areas. Why are the health insurance industries afraid?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:03 amdeebaser Says:
Guido, what’s insurance insurance?
– - Unfortunately, that’s AIG.
Or AIU or whatever they rebranded themselves as if they were a child molester out on bail.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:03 amIn response, the health insurance lobby group AHIP has insisted that such competition would be “potentially lethal” to their industry.
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Let’s see — a public plan operating without profit might make things tough for private insurers who cherry-pick their customers, drop insureds as soon as they get sick, deny claims on technicalities in order to increase profits, spend more on lobbying and advertising than they do on claims, and operate with a 40% overhead.
And this is a bad thing?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:03 amtouché, i thought G was talking about a new consumer level product specific to health insurance, but yeah he probably meant AI*.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:06 amI thought elephants were afraid of mice?
Is Lamar suggesting the government is afraid of the (”little”) insurance companies???
Do these guys EVER think before opening their mouths?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:07 amIf we had the same kind of coverage members of congress have and the insurance companies treated is with the same deference they are treated we’d be happy with the system to. Unfortunately the only time I had that kind of coverage I worked for a Wall Street investment banking firm. That kind of coverage isn’t available to anybody else. And without that kind of coverage you don’t get to go to any doctor you want and get the services you need. I don’t think politicians understand this at all.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:08 amRepublicans tell us all the time how we don’t want government involved in our medical decisions. Well if that’s true why would they worry that insurance companies couldn’t compete with the government for our coverage dollars?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:12 amI thought the Republican mantra was that Free efterprise is always more efficient than Government enterprise. More of the same retarded, hypocritical GOP nonsense.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:14 amGuido, the same right wingers who will tell us we should have bought insurance insurance are the same people who tell us that we’re idiots to worry about climate change.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:16 amIn response, the health insurance lobby group AHIP has insisted that such competition would be “potentially lethal” to their industry.
If they can’t compete, that will be their problem, won’t it. They have had the ability to charge what they want, discriminate where they want and deny when they want for far too long. Providing health care for Americans should not be a for-profit industry.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:16 ammisscoleopteramolly Says:
In response, the health insurance lobby group AHIP has insisted that such competition would be “potentially lethal” to their industry.
____________________________________________________________
Let’s see — a public plan operating without profit might make things tough for private insurers who cherry-pick their customers, drop insureds as soon as they get sick, deny claims on technicalities in order to increase profits, spend more on lobbying and advertising than they do on claims, and operate with a 40% overhead.
And this is a bad thing?
It is to the for-profit health insurance industry and all the rich folks who have stock in those companies.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:19 amMugsy Says:
I thought elephants were afraid of mice?
Is Lamar suggesting the government is afraid of the (”little”) insurance companies???
Do these guys EVER think before opening their mouths?
Uh…I don’t always agree with the Mythbuster scientific method, but…
…yeah, elephants would TOTALLY win over mice.
Is this what you would call “epic pwnage”?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:21 am@24
Oh…my….God…
Really? They really came up with that? I thought the Tier 4 Rx riders were the worst I’d see for a while, but WOW…
May 6th, 2009 at 11:24 am“In an environment where private plans are forced to compete with a new efficient public program, inefficient, over-bloated insurers will go out of business, but private plans with good networks of providers or better services will continue attracting new enrollees.”
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As it works with education. A private school that charges a ton of money for tuition and gives an education worse than what one might get in a public school will bite the dust. However, a private school offering an education better than that offered by public schools will prosper — even though they charge more for the service.
There’s no reason why health insurers can’t do the same. Competing with the government will make everybody more efficient and customer-focused. And if the private sector truly works better than the government does, the private insurers have nothing to worry about.
Personally, I’d like to see the government offer public plans for dental, vision, and mental health as well — making the for-profit players in those markets compete with them.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:25 amIf the mice can’t pull the weight…
May 6th, 2009 at 11:33 amthen it’s time to call in the elephants.
I couldn’t care less if insurance companies went out of business. The insurance companies have grown fat and rich at our expense for far too long. It’s time for a change to the system. If it means some squealing mice get killed by some freaking elephants in the process – then so be it!
May 6th, 2009 at 11:34 amI’m no expert, but I thought republicans were all for the free market and competition…why stop with health care? A little healthy competition with a public plan looks like just what the doctor ordered for the bloating and inefficiencies of the insurance companies.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:39 amWe can thank Nixon for our current system. He got the ball rolling on this.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:41 amAlexander is another lobbyist whore.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:56 amI like the comparison with the USPS and the private companies such as FedEx and UPS. The private sector insurance game has been played to their advantage for too long because they all play it the same way so there is no real competition. Services suck pretty much equally no matter which insurance company you go with.
Either the mice start to actually supply the services they claim to or they become elephant toe jam. Sounds like free market competition to me.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:57 amThe Republicans arguments against the public plan just don’t make sense…they are contradictory even…. On the one hand they say the public plan isn’t popular and can’t deliver adequate care and on the other they say, if implemented it will destroy the private sector insurance companies. They can’t have it both ways!!! The problem with Republicans and some Democrats is that they have sold their soils to the corporate insurance lobbyists…and they aren’t adult enough to admit it!!
May 6th, 2009 at 11:58 amMugsy Says:
I thought elephants were afraid of mice?
Is Lamar suggesting the government is afraid of the (”little”) insurance companies???
May 6th, 2009 at 11:07 am
_____________
According to the laws of cartoon biology, they are, and cartoons never lie.
I don’t know how Lamar Alexander could have forgotten that. He must be suffering from amnesia. Quick – someone drop another anvil on his head!
May 6th, 2009 at 12:06 pmYep, we need to rig the insurance industry so that those in current financial power remain in financial power; despite our supposed free market economy in which market competition remedies all, and despite the repurcussions to millions of American families.
If the insurance industry giants are doing everything right business-wise, then why are they afraid of a little competition?
May 6th, 2009 at 12:14 pmAt the risk of repeating what so many others have said so well here: Expose them to this lethal potential and bid them adieu.
From one who is running out of COBRA and been turned down by three health insurance comapanies for “pre-existing condition”. How many people over 50 don’t have a pre-existing condition?
http://blogs.webmd.com/mad-about-medicine/2007/08/ceo-compensation-who-said-healthcare-is.html
May 6th, 2009 at 12:29 pmIn Canada we have single payer system. We do have a choice if we want to upgrade our coverage by obtaining private insureance for the purpose of upgrading to a private room, coverage of perscriptions, dental and anything that is not covered by our government plan (which is not much) How much do my wife and I (with child)pay for this insurance??? Her company pays half and we pay half which comes to $100 per month ($1200per annum). Is the extra coverage worth it??? Yes for the dental part and perscriptions. Would we pay $200 a month on our own??? NO!!
Our single payer is GREAT!! no forms to fill, get to pick my own doctor. My wife’s contribution (through her taxes)$1300 for the year(or $108 a month). Everything is covered that has to be covered. Hospital stays, tests, specialists etc.
You could not pay me enough to have private only insurance!!! Especially when the insurer can drop you as soon as you get to sick. So what is the point of having private insurance??? The point is “the illusion that you are getting something great becuase its private”. It’s just an illusion!
I was an outpatient from the time I was 4 until 18 (now im in my 40’s)I spent 4 months in the hospital. Total cost to my parents $0.00!!!
My parents were not slaves to the insurance companies, or doctor bills! This allowed my parents (who were imagrents at the time) TO BUILD UP THERE OWN PERSON WEALTH BECUASE MY PARENTS DID NOT HAVE TO SPEND THERE HARD EARNED CASH TO KEEP ME ALIVE!!!
I hope from the bottem of my heart, the citizens of the US get a government plan (single payer). YOU WILL BE AMAZED HOW YOUR PERSONAL WEALTH WILL ACCUMULATE OVER TIME WITHOUT GETTING RAPED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!
Fight for your right…human right!!!! like others in the industrialized world have.
May 6th, 2009 at 12:31 pmYep, we need to rig the insurance industry so that those in current financial power remain in financial power; despite our supposed free market economy in which market competition remedies all, and despite the repurcussions to millions of American families.
If the insurance industry giants are doing everything right business-wise, then why are they afraid of a little competition?
They don’t see health insurance as a right but as a privledge given to those who are wealthy, white and Christian. Phuck Republicans.
May 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pmNo, Senator, the elephant in the room is that a private plan IS more efficient, more attractive, will provide better care for less and therefore should REPLACE the private insurance system all together.
It’s incredible. Opponents of a “public option” and single payer say this all the time, but all it proves is how terrible the private system is and how it should be scrapped all together.
There is no better argument for single payer than the one Alexander just made
May 6th, 2009 at 12:41 pmThey don’t see health insurance as a right but as a privledge given to those who are wealthy, white and Christian. Phuck Republicans.
That is so true!!! Here in Canada, becaues of single payer, money can’t get you to the front of the line!!! We don’t care how much money one has becase of this basic rule….I will get the same service as you (rick folk)when it comes to health coverage.
This pisses off the rich here. So they feel they are above the rest of us because they fly down to the US, open up there wallets and pay through the nose for the privillage of saying “I got treated right away” . WHAT FOOLS!! I have seen first hand when someone is really sick here and I can tell you there is no WAITING!!!
YOU ARE SERVED ACCORDINGLY TO YOUR SAVERITY OF YOUR HEALTH…IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR NOT GOING TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE BECAUSE YOU HAVE A COLD AND HEALTH INSURANCE!!! It may take 4 weeks to get a MRI but if your really sick…IT’S DONE RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!!!! So please don’t buy the lies that there are huge lines.
One last point….I’d rather wait in line knowing I’m going to get treated, then not being able to stand in line because I can’t afford coverage!!!
May 6th, 2009 at 12:50 pmBut isn’t the neocon mantra that private enterprise is inevitably more flexible and better than govt programs.
So just let the govt program compete with the private and the private will leave the govt standing.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:21 pm“It’s like putting an elephant in the room with some mice and saying, ‘Okay fellas, compete.’ There wouldn’t be any mice left after a while.”
I bet Lamar thought he was so clever when he came up with that one. Frackin’ dipshit.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:38 pmIt can’t be both ways.
May 6th, 2009 at 2:51 pmEither ‘government’ is too stupid and inefficient to be trusted to run a vital American business (think banks and autos), OR it’s too smart and efficient for others to compete with (health care).
Is a little consistency from the ‘loyal opposition’ too much to ask?
For too long the argument against universal health care has been that “you don’t want the government deciding what kind of treatment you need.” Why then do we want insurance companies, whose goal is profit for the stockholders – not human health, to decide what kind of treatment we get?
Yesterday I found out that our insurance carrier, BC/BS, is instituting pre-authorization for certain prescription medication. If your doctor thinks you need a particular medication, and it’s on a list, s/he will have to call the insurer before they will cover a prescription. It has nothing to do with human health, it’s because even the insurance companies don’t want to pay the outrageous cost of prescription medication.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:20 pmThe fact that a Rebublican chooses to go to bat for an industry instead of his constituents surprises anyone?
The Republican party is known as the GOP, and that acronym obviously stands for “Guardians of Privilege”
May 6th, 2009 at 3:36 pmI think folks should take a look at Tom Daschle’s point that, everyone is too concerned about the private plans being unable to compete or being driven out of the market. The debate is not about fixing healthcare to help insurance companies, it’s about fixing healthcare to help Americans. Too much political cowardice on display these days.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:43 pmWho is the elephant and who are the mice???
What an idiot!
I’ve got an idea!
Take away all the FREE, Premium, Tax-Payer Funded, Socialist Health Care Republicans members of Congress and their families are given and make them fend for themselves in the private market. Then we’ll see who’s the Elephant and who’s the mouse!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 6th, 2009 at 4:07 pmson-of-a-gun, markets weeding out inefficient providers in favor of efficient providers…what’s that called…um, um…its on the tip of my tongue…capi, capi…capi-something…oh yea…capitalism, that’s it!
Too bad that when it comes to inefficient corporate welfare, republican scum are agin it.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pmThey’re skating too close to the unfortunate
truth that public non-profit corps provide
better services at less cost every damn time.
Free market capitalism is great for the CEOs,
May 6th, 2009 at 7:59 pmnot so much for their customers.
Here’s the f’ing “elephant” that contributes to Alexander:
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $4,852,725 (career total)
The SOB has received almost 5 million from the industry he protecting from us “mice.”
Complements of http://www.opensecrets.org
May 7th, 2009 at 12:24 amGo public health care. What a shameful thing to live in a superpower country with tons of billionares that doesn’t even look out for it’s people.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:20 am“In an environment where private plans are forced to compete with a new efficient public program, inefficient, over-bloated insurers will go out of business, but private plans with good networks of providers or better services will continue attracting new enrollees.”
—Come on. Efficient public program is an oxymoron. The gov’t cannot do anything efficiently. See Medicaid and SS. This will just be one more way for the populace to elect “free” gifts from the treasury. Once the AAA rating of the US is down in the dumps following the dollar, alas there will be no way to pay for the elephant. And by the way…The gov’t does not “compete” fairly in anything. The gov’t has “unlimited” resources and the ability to change the rules. That is not competition.
Having said that, Insurance companies are a big part of the problem. But what good does replacing one administrative bureaucracy with another?
I hate having to continually pay for the bad decisions of others. This is the Land of the Free and most seem to think that means “Free of consequences”.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm