Health Care Reform Chronicles Thread #2 For 12/11/09: If You Thought The First Thread Was Something

The two big stories highlighted in the first thread today had big updated developments today.

First, to the reason why the Senate health bill put in a provision to allow the health insurance companies to place a limited cap on medical care for patients with serious illness (i.e. cancer). Well, Harry Reid's spokesperson sent the reason why to Greg Sargent.

“We are concerned that banning all annual limits, regardless of whether services are voluntary, could lead to higher premiums. We continue to work with experts on how best to accomplish our goals of preventing insurance companies from imposing arbitrary coverage limits while providing the premium relief American families need and deserve.”

The reasoning for the cap, to prevent higher premiums, seemed very fishy at first glance. And after looking at this from the one and only Digby, it seems even more so:

Here's a study done by Price Waterhouse on the impact of the lifetime caps:

The findings are based on public data, surveys of major insurers, and PwC actuarial modeling. Key findings from the report include:

* Approximately 55% of individuals with employer provided health insurance are subject to lifetime limits; the most common of which are $1 million and $2 million.
* It is estimated that approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people have exceeded limits with their current health insurance plans.
* Premiums would increase by less than one-half of one percent if limits were increased to $10 million.
* Removing limits would reduce Medicaid costs by $1 billion per year.

Dishonest story telling by Reid and his camp on doing something directly opposite from what President Obama wanted on the campaign trail last year and even this year.

It will be interesting to see how this folds going into the weekend, and whether the White House will tell Reid to take that out of the bill. Or, will the obama Administration be willing to let alone campaign promise on health care go to the waste side.

And speaking of the White House, their summer deal with Pharma is the main reason why Byron Dorgan's amendment (bring foreign drugs across the border) is under serious attack. If this amendment passes, some believe that the entire, THE ENTIRE, health care bill will fall down. The reason for that belief is the 99.99% fact that PHARMA would immediately team up with the health insurance lobby to destroy the bill.

That is why the Dorgan amendment has President McCain's, President Snowe's, and a number of Republicans' support for it. They don't support the amendment because it is the right thing to do, since it clearly is. They support it because it could lead to the death of the health reform.

Well, despite the White House and its Pharma colleague senators (Reid, Carper and New Jersey's Lautenberg and Menedez) wanting Dorgan to abandon his amendment, he refuses to do so:

As a result, the Senate health care debate has come to a standstill: Carper has placed a "hold" on Dorgan's amendment and in response, Dorgan tells HuffPost, he'll object to any other amendments being considered before he gets a vote on his.

As DDay has said, it has gotten really so ugly:

The dispute within the Democratic caucus is becoming personal. “Of course, with Dorgan, it’s all about Dorgan,” a senior Democratic aide told HuffPost, complaining that Dorgan was willing to blow up health care reform for his own glory.

And the backroom deals have gotten so ridiculous that Pharma is publicly daring the Senate to pass Dorgan's amendment

Ken Johnson, PhRMA's vice president, tells HuffPost the industry opposes the amendment for three principal reasons. First, he said, the Food and Drug Administration can't guarantee the safety of reimported drugs. Second, he says, it would cut into drug makers' profits - money it needs for research. And third, he says, the uncertainty around the origin of reimported drugs could tarnish the pharmaceutical brand, as people wonder about the authenticity of the drugs in their medicine cabinet.

The excuses (and virtually lies or exaggerations) made by Johnson is laughable.

But the total joke is on us if they get their way. And barring a miraculous event in my mind, Dorgan's valiant effort and fight for the American people will fall short, thinks to the powerful forces that are corrupting our government.